Chelsea favoured to beat Brentford, not to draw, says forecast

The most concrete fact here is the injury list Keith Andrews confirmed himself: Josh Dasilva, Antoni Milambo, Nathan Collins, Sepp van den Berg and Kaye Furo are all sidelined for Brentford, with the manager stressing there are "no new injuries" beyond that group. That is a genuinely threadbare Brentford squad heading into Friday's kick off at the Gtech Community Stadium. Chelsea's picture is murkier and, as reported, deliberately kept that way. Reece James is expected to be fit, while Moises Caicedo, Marco Palestra, Jordan Henderson and Emmanuel Emegha are all doubts being assessed right up to matchday, and Joao Pedro has reportedly withdrawn. Even with those question marks, the projected Chelsea side still features Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and the returning James, a group with more attacking quality than Brentford can currently call upon given Kevin Schade and Vitaly Janelt must carry extra weight with regulars out. Igor Thiago's search for his first league goal of the season only reinforces the sense that Brentford are missing firepower as well as bodies. Put simply, the forecast leans firmly away from a draw because Chelsea's squad depth, even patched together, outweighs a Brentford side stretched thin by absentees. The one thing to watch is just how many of those Chelsea doubts are actually passed fit; a heavily rotated visiting side would tighten this contest considerably.