Chelsea team news vs Brentford and predicted lineup | OneFootball

Chelsea will continue their bid to secure Champions League football for next season with a top-four finish when they travel to face Brentford in the Premier League on Sunday at 2pm.

Chelsea predicted lineup vs Brentford

Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; James, Badiashile, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Neto, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson

The Blues boosted their top-four hopes thanks to a 1-0 victory over rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday night and Enzo Maresca’s side will be hoping for more success against a fellow London outfit when they make the short trip to face Thomas Frank’s Bees at the Gtech Community Stadium.

Chelsea team news vs Brentford

Sunday might well see the return of captain Reece James to the starting XI after he came off the bench in the win over Tottenham in midweek.

Due to the England international’s well-documented recent injury issues, Maresca has been cautious about how many minutes James gets.

Looking to get the most football out of the wing-back for the business end of the season, the Blues captain came on in the 82nd minute against Tottenham, but could be handed a starting role this weekend.

Romeo Lavia was not in the matchday squad for Thursday’s game at Stamford Bridge and the injured midfielder is not expected to be available for the trip to Brenford. Wesley Fofana is also a doubt having missed the win over Tottenham due to injury.

Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson have all had their recent injury issues, but all three appear to have come through the game against Tottenham unscathed and ready to go for Sunday.

Blues look to build on Tottenham success

Derby games against Spurs are never straightforward, but Chelsea got the job done on Thursday thanks to a goal from Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez.

The Blues squandered opportunities in the first half and would have been frustrated at the break that they were not ahead in the game.

However, Chelsea were patient and Fernandez finally broke the deadlock in the 50th minute to score what proved to be the decisive goal to see the Blues claim three valuable points.

The battle for a top-four finish is heating up, with Nottingham Forest continuing to keep the pace despite the doubters.

Sitting in third place going into the weekend, the Tricky Trees hold a five-point gap over Chelsea, but they do have a tough trip to Villa Park on Saturday.

Chelsea have the potential to make ground on Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, while also hoping they can keep their noses ahead of the chasing pack.

Manchester City remain hot on Chelsea’s coat-tails with just one point between the pair on the Premier League ladder. But the Citizens know they will be without injured star striker Erling Haaland for the coming weeks due to an ankle issue.