Chelsea take on Brentford in the FA Cup this weekend, and it’s yet another chance for youngsters Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Nathaniel Chalobah and Michy Batshuayi to seize their chance and yet again impress Antonio Conte.
Scott Hogan offers Brentford’s biggest attacking threat, scoring 14 Championship goals this season – and has been touted with moves to West Ham, Burnley and Swansea. While former Chelsea youth prodigy Josh McEachran dictates play from midfield with his mix of short and long range passing, and ability to win back possession with a crunching tackle.
Last time the two sides met, Chelsea comfortably beat Brentford 4-0 at Stamford Bridge, with Oscar, Juan Mata, Frank Lampard and John Terry grabbing the goals – but this was not before Brentford had taken Chelsea to a replay, after a late Fernando Torres goal had salvaged a 2-2 draw for the much relieved Chelsea outfit.
John Terry will more than likely return to the starting XI, having sat out the previous two games against Leicester City and Hull City after his sending off in the previous round win over Peterborough. Other than that Chelsea have a full squad to pick from, although changes are inevitable as the Blues look ahead to their crunch fixture away at Liverpool.
West London rivals Brentford will be without both midfielder Alan Judge, who scored 14 goals and assisted 11 last season before suffering a long-term injury as well as young defender Rico Henry.
