The 8pm Friday kick-off will also be the Blues’ last west London derby on the road of the current league campaign.

End-to-end 2-2 draws at the weekend prompted both managers to wistfully wish for a ‘boring’ game – 51 goals have already been scored in matches across all competitions involving the west London pair.

The unbeaten Bees have drawn three on the spin in the top flight, but won 2-1 at Reading in midweek to reach the last 16 of the Carabao Cup. Chelsea's ball was already in the round four bowl so Xabi Alonso had a free week to prepare his players for this fixture after Saturday’s 2-2 home draw with Hull.

Alonso and Keith Andrews will lock horns in the technical area for the first time, but at Euro 2012 they vied for midfield supremacy as Spain beat the Republic of Ireland 4-0, a win in which Chelsea’s Fernando Torres scored twice.

In this same fixture last season at the Gtech, the Blues came from behind to lead, but conceded a last-gasp equaliser for 2-2 and a share of the spoils.

Either club claiming all three points would lift them to third place in the table going into the weekend action. After that comes FIFA’s three-week, four-match international break, with club football resuming on 10 October, when Chelsea host Bournemouth.

Team news

Alonso confirmed that Joao Pedro and Reece James, along with the whole of his Chelsea squad, remain in contention to face Brentford. There were concerns over Joao Pedro after the striker withdrew from the Brazil squad for the upcoming international break, and James as he missed the start of training on Tuesday.

‘In terms of injuries and in terms of the squad, we are having the last training session on Friday so no-one is ruled out for us,’ he explained in his pre-match press conference.

‘So I prefer to be cautious and we will wait to take the final decision on every player. We will see if Joao is ready to play, it’s a possibility. For Reece, it was just a decision for Tuesday and we see his development and we will decide.’

It was a similar story when Alonso discussed the potential return from injury of Moises Caicedo, Marco Palestra and Jordan Henderson.

‘Moises is getting closer and we will take the final decision on the team and on the squad that is coming to Brentford. Before the players know we need to assess all the positions with the last training and we will make the decision for the game.’

The history

One of Chelsea’s most memorable trips to Maine Road came in a rare Friday night match in early May 1984, Match Of The Day coverage of the tussle with Manchester City vying with That’s My Boy on ITV for the viewing public’s attention. It was the first time a Division Two match had been given the BBC’s live treatment and already-promoted Chelsea struck twice in six minutes to show why they and not the Cityzens were rejoining the elite.

Fast forward eight years to 11 December 1992 and a dour 0-0 between Middlesbrough and Chelsea meant Teesside hosted the first Friday night match in Premier League history.

The August 2002 clash between the Blues and Manchester United at Stamford Bridge was brought forward to the end of the working week to avoid Notting Hill Carnival congestion. The hosts twice led though William Gallas then Boudewijn Zenden, but the Mancunians levelled on each occasion and an entertaining game finished 2-2.

Friday 12 May 2017 at West Bromwich Albion proved a red letter day in the Black Country for the Blues. The hosts doggedly held out until Michy Batshuayi’s opportunistic winner and at the final whistle the title-winning celebrations were lengthy and joyful.

Last season, the same night of the week served up substantial away wins on two fronts – 5-1 at West Ham United in the league and 4-0 at Hull City in the FA Cup. Those were the Blues’ second and third-highest scores of the season and Pedro Neto notched four across the two games.

Prior to that, a Marc Cucurella goal without reply had claimed all three points at home to Man Utd in May 2025, making the 3-0 at Brighton & Hove Albion two months earlier our most recent Friday loss.

Know this...

No Premier League goalkeeper has made more saves this season than Chelsea’s Emi Martinez or Brentford’s Caoimhin Kelleher (both 15).

The Blues have recorded and sustained the joint-most shots on target in the top flight, 24 for and 26 against.

Chelsea have broken the deadlock in the opening seven minutes of all four Premier League fixtures to date – in the first minute at Fulham, fourth at home to Brighton, second at Arsenal and seventh against Hull.

Last weekend, Cole Palmer marked his 100th Premier League appearance with his 71st goal contribution (49 goals, 22 assists). Only Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink produced more in his first century for the Blues.

Joao Pedro has already set up and scored a goal in the same top-flight game three times this season, matching his best performance in any campaign in England.

The Bees have opened the scoring in each of their past three league games, and conceded the equaliser on each occasion.

Premier League west London derbies