Thomas Tuchel’s side won both the matches without conceding, although no one would say either game was easy, with some stout defending and good goalkeeping from both Edou Mendy and Kepa required.In the first meeting, the Premier League match that was our first visit to Brentford’s new stadium, we were put under especially heavy pressure late on in the game, at a stage in the season when our opponents were seventh in the league table. They have not reached that height since and currently lie 15th.Tuchel assesses that variation in form ahead of welcoming our fellow west Londoners for their first Premier League match at Stamford Bridge.‘As a newcomer in the toughest league in the world, I think they expected to not fly through the season like they started,’ he says.

‘When we played against them in the first match, it was one of the worst moments to play them because they were absolutely flying, they were full of positivity and full of belief. We played a very good match and struggled in the last 18 minutes like crazy, and we needed to defend and needed a lot of luck to escape with three points.‘We had another match against them at Brentford in the Carabao Cup and we played very well and had learned from our first match, and that is the challenge for today.‘Brentford played for a long period in the season in a 5-3-2, and now they change in the last games to a 4-3-3, so let’s see what they will do today,’ Tuchel added.‘They are still a very physical team, they are still a very direct team, they are still a team that rely heavily on set-pieces, so we know about it and we need to be ready. We expect a tough one again.’

Since we played those two previous games this season, Brentford have signed Christian Eriksen who played his first three games for them in the lead-up to the international break, and then scored for Denmark last Saturday on his return for his nation following his medical emergency at the Euros in the summer.‘It is brilliant he is back and back in the Premier League and has the chance to enjoy football on this kind of level,’ says Tuchel. ‘It’s perfect news and it is a wonderful story.’Like Eriksen, our own Timo Werner was one to score in the round of internationals just completed, which led to reports of the striker saying Germany’s style of play may suit him better than Chelsea’s.

Tuchel believes creative journalism was involved.‘Some of my staff told me about the interview, I did not even look at it. They told me they [the reporters] really wanted to have this kind of line because Timo was struggling to find the good answer to the question.‘All the respect but maybe it also depends a little bit on the opponent if you score or don’t score. Many teams in the Premier League are a bit better than the teams they [Germany] played against in the last weeks.‘In general, I don't take these things too personally. First of all, I never read them and I will not listen to them. I don't care too much about these things, otherwise you have a headache all the time.’