Chelsea are without a clean sheet across their last 20 Premier League matches.

It’s an issue that’s been present for far longer than Xabi Alonso’s tenure, with Chelsea lacking defensive structure ahead of a trip to a ground where they have historically struggled.

Brentford have made a strong start to the campaign having avoided defeat across their opening four Premier League matches. They’ve scored seven goals across these games, seeing BTTS in each of their last five matches.

This fixture last season produced four goals as Brentford claimed a point against Chelsea in a 2-2 draw. I can’t see Chelsea shoring up their backline ahead of this clash, though they do have the attacking quality to get on the scoresheet. 

Morgan Rogers has made a strong start since signing for Chelsea, registering seven goal contributions across just six appearances - including a goal or an assist in each of his last four matches.

He’s taken 11 shots across his four starts in the Premier League so far (2.84 per 90), seeing four of these efforts find the target (1.03 per 90). 

He’s gelling well with Palmer and Pedro, who are both priced shorter than Rogers for a shot on target in this game - despite Rogers having a pretty similar record so far this season. 

Chelsea have had the joint most shots on target of any side in the Premier League so far this season (6.0 per game) and I’d expect Alonso’s front three to have more attacking success in this clash.

Brentford are very smart with their transfer business, often picking up players who are specialists in a particular area and maximising their strengths alongside other players that big clubs may overlook.

Diouf fits perfectly into this category, he was one of West Ham’s better performers last season and is particularly strong when it comes to crossing - creating 29 chances and recording five assists across just 30 starts from left back.

I’m looking at him in a slightly different area here, his impressive delivery often sees him given licence to push forward but that does put him at risk of committing tactical fouls. He committed 28 fouls for West Ham last season, working out to an average of 0.93 fouls committed per 90.

He’ll be up against Cole Palmer (1.27 fouls won per 90) and Pedro Neto - who looks a much better player operating from wingback in Alonso’s 3-4-3 shape. I can see Diouf being caught high at times and needing to commit tactical fouls to stop Chelsea’s devastating front three.

I’ve watched Emi Martinez quite closely over the last few weeks and come to the conclusion that he’s not a massive upgrade on Rob Sanchez.

That might sound crazy, but it was quite simple to put all of Chelsea’s issues down to one player - this is a side that hasn’t kept a clean sheet in 20 Premier League matches, the wider defensive structure is just as much to blame as Sanchez.

Martinez has played three games for Chelsea so far and has had to make 3+ saves in all of these matches - even against Hull at Stamford Bridge last time out. He was forced into making eight saves in Chelsea’s most recent away game against Arsenal.

The lack of protection afforded to Martinez at the moment is slowly being unearthed as the real issue with Chelsea’s backline. Sanchez did make mistakes, but Martinez has got those in him as well - any keeper that Chelsea field at the moment is going to have to get through a lot of work.

Brentford rank fourth for expected goals and are averaging 4.30 shots on target per game in the Premier League, they have enough quality to cause Martinez issues. 

Chelsea are without a clean sheet across their last 20 Premier League matches.

It’s an issue that’s been present for far longer than Xabi Alonso’s tenure, with Chelsea lacking defensive structure ahead of a trip to a ground where they have historically struggled.

Brentford have made a strong start to the campaign having avoided defeat across their opening four Premier League matches. They’ve scored seven goals across these games, seeing BTTS in each of their last five matches.

This fixture last season produced four goals as Brentford claimed a point against Chelsea in a 2-2 draw. I can’t see Chelsea shoring up their backline ahead of this clash, though they do have the attacking quality to get on the scoresheet. 

Rapid Wien have made a really strong start to the season, winning five of their opening six matches and netting 18 goals in the process.

They’ve won all three of their games at home this term, conceding just one goal across these matches. 12 of their 18 goals have also come in front of their own fans, suggesting that they will be the dominant force here.

Rapid Wien emerged as 4-1 winners when these sides met in this fixture last season, recording an xG of 2.42 from 15 shots to Tirol’s 0.36 xG from just four efforts.

Chelsea are without a clean sheet across their last 20 Premier League matches.

It’s an issue that’s been present for far longer than Xabi Alonso’s tenure, with Chelsea lacking defensive structure ahead of a trip to a ground where they have historically struggled.

Brentford have made a strong start to the campaign having avoided defeat across their opening four Premier League matches. They’ve scored seven goals across these games, seeing BTTS in each of their last five matches.

This fixture last season produced four goals as Brentford claimed a point against Chelsea in a 2-2 draw. I can’t see Chelsea shoring up their backline ahead of this clash, though they do have the attacking quality to get on the scoresheet. 

No side saw BTTS more often than Monaco in Ligue 1 last season, seeing goals at both ends in nearly 70% of their matches.

They’ve seen BTTS in each of their last two matches ahead of this clash against Strasbourg and PSG, with only two clean sheets in their six matches across all competitions.

Both league meetings between these sides last season saw BTTS, with the most recent meeting producing five goals as Monaco came away 3-2 winners over Lens with both sides posting a healthy xG (1.79-1.70).

Lens have seen BTTS in four of their last five matches, most recently contesting a 2-2 draw against a newly promoted Le Mans side on the road. 

Groningen have made a hectic start to the season, winning two of their opening six matches and seeing 25 goals across these games (4.16 per game).

They’ve seen BTTS in all six of these matches, most recently earning a point on the road against Go Ahead Eagles in a 1-1 draw but not without conceding an xG of 3.50 from 25 shots.

Zwolle conceded seven goals at home against Feyenoord last time out, winning just one of their opening six matches. They held Groningen to two draws in the Eredivisie last season, with BTTS landing in both matches.

The most recent clash between the sides saw both teams register an xG of 2.0 or higher (2.55-2.48), suggesting that this will be a meeting that produces chances at both ends.