Ex-Chelsea and Blackburn Rovers striker Chris Sutton has predicted a 2-2 Premier League draw between the west London outfit and Brentford on Sunday (April 6).
The Blues are on a quest to secure a top-five spot in the Premier League this campaign. After beating Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 at Stamford Bridge in their previous league encounter, they are fourth in the standings now. They are on 52 points from 30 matches, one point ahead of Manchester City.
Brentford, on the other hand, have only won one contest in their last four Premier League games. The Bees, who are in 11th spot with 41 points from 30 outings, succumbed to a 2-1 away loss at Newcastle United earlier on Wednesday (April 2).
In his column for the BBC, Sutton claimed that Chelsea could struggle to get the better of Thomas Frank’s team at Gtech Community Stadium. He wrote:
“Chelsea’s issue has been consistency. They played well to beat Tottenham but can they back it up here? I am not sure. Brentford are another team I have struggled to get right this season, but I’d always back them to score. I have feeling this is going to be an open game with a few goals. A win would be big for Chelsea in their push for a top-five finish, but I don’t think they will get it.”
The Blues have registered just one victory in their past six league games against Brentford. Before winning 2-1 last December, they lost three and drew two matches against the Bees.
Pundit heaps praise on 23-year-old Chelsea star
After Chelsea’s 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur earlier this Thursday, ex-Spurs manager Tim Sherwood opined on the Blues’ display. He said (h/t Metro):
“I think the manager said it right, they did enough to win, they deserved to win, they did just enough to win tonight against Tottenham who were playing a little bit within. If they’d have played against Liverpool tonight, or Manchester City, or Nottingham Forest, they might have had some trouble, they really might.”
Singling out Moises Caicedo for praise, Sherwood continued:
“Caicedo is a diamond of a player. He breaks up so many attacks, he sits in that midfield. For [Levi] Colwill and [Trevoh] Chalobah, tonight he must’ve been a dream. He was just in there and giving it to players who can play in front of him.”
Caicedo, 23, completed 37 of his 41 passes in the Blues’ latest 1-0 win. He also won all four of his tackles and nine of his 13 total duels against Ange Postecoglou’s outfit.
So far this season, the Ecuador international has contributed a goal and three assists in 35 appearances across competitions for his club.
Edited by Debkalpa Banerjee
