Correlation FC

Brentford vs Chelsea, preview

When Chelsea comes to Brentford on Saturday, it will be the first time that the teams have met this season, the first West London derby of the season for the Bees and the first game for both teams since the first international break of the season. So many firsts. (Though strangely, this is already the 4th game in London for Chelsea.)

Recent history

The last 3 times these teams have met at the Gtech Community Stadium, the games have ended in a draw (0-0, 2-2, 0-0). Chelsea beat the Bees at Stamford Bridge last December.

Recent form

After winning the Club World Cup this summer, Chelsea had a shortened pre-season. That hasn't hurt them yet, as they're undefeated in their first 3 games in the season. The Bees have had more mixed form, with 2 wins and 2 losses so far.

Opta Power Rankings (as of 10th September 2025)

Pre-game correlation

Both of Brentford's win this season have come in small stadiums with seating capacities well under 20,000. Perhaps that bodes well for this weekend.

Prediction #1

The Gtech holds fewer than 20,000 people, so Brentford will win.

Prediction #2

Chelsea has dominated possession in their games this season, and the Bees haven't seen much of the ball. That trend will continue and Chelsea will have more possession than Brentford.

Prediction #3

Last season, the Bees committed 8.4 fouls per game, the 2nd lowest average in the league. Only Manchester City committed fewer. This season they're close to the top of the table with 12.7 fouls committed per game. Keith Andrews has publicly said that he wants to the team to play with personality an edge. (Interestingly, the Bees have also been fouled fewer times than any team in the league.) The Bees will commit more fouls than Chelsea.

Prediction #4

The Bees averaged 1.6 goals for per game in the games immediately following an international break last season. The Bees will score at least 1 goal against Chelsea.

The question

This week, we want to know about ages. Chelsea frequently fields some of the youngest squads in the league. Brentford has recently made their own history with their youngest Premier League squads too. This week's question – which team will name a younger starting lineup? Just for kicks we'll also ask which team had the youngest starting player? Oldest? The Bees have 4 players older than Chelsea's oldest player – Jordan Henderson is nearly twice as old as Estavao Willian – so the Bees are likely to win the old guy award. Chelsea has 4 players younger than Brentford's youngest, so there's a very good chance that they'll take that prize.

Some unrelated answers

We'll try this again, offering some answers (unrelated to the question above). After the game, we'll provide the questions. It's like a television game show, but without the prizes.

1. 8pm
2. Set pieces
3. 50%