CHELSEA'S decline in the last two years has been so severe they've gone from champions of Europe to not even being the best team in west London.
It's Brentford who have that honour now and the Bees will be confident of heaping on the Blues misery when they pitch up at Stamford Bridge looking to inflict a fifth successive defeat on Frank Lampard.
It was a surprise when Chelsea welcomed back Lampard as interim boss after finally losing patience with Graham Potter but his return has been a disaster so far.
Losing to Real Madrid in both legs of their Champions League quarter-final of the Champions League wasn't a major shock and I cashed in by backing the European champions to win comfortably.
But the level of performance in Premier League defeats to Wolves and Brighton set alarm bells ringing at Stamford Bridge and this could be Lampard's last game in charge with rumours rife that Mauricio Pochettino is set to take the reins.
The former Spurs boss would inherit a team with nothing to play for in the final few weeks of this campaign but Brentford still have an outside chance of landing a European slot.
Thomas Frank's side have gone through a slump of their own, going six games without a win to drop down to 10th place. But they ended a run of three successive defeats with a draw against in-form Aston Villa at the weekend and a win in this London derby could spark them back to life.
How the bookies view it
Chelsea's miserable run can't continue forever and they are odds-on favourites for the win here at a best 3/4 with BetUK. Plenty of punters will fancy a nibble on Brentford at 17/4 with BetVictor while the draw pays 3/1 at Betway.
Recent head to head
Brentford memorably won 4-1 on their last visit to Stamford Bridge but that was their first victory over the Blues since way back in 1939. There wasn't much to write home about when these sides faced off earlier in the season in Brentford as they ground out a 0-0 draw.
Players to watch
I fancied Reece James for a Chelsea assist after he impressed against Real Madrid but the England star is now injured and won't play again this season. Kai Havertz will probably lead the line once more and the young German is 12/5 at Bet365 for anytime scorer.
Ivan Toney will relish having a go at Chelsea's defence after taking his tally for the season to 20 with his weekend strike against Villa. The Bees hitman is 13/5 at Bet365 to grab another goal here.
Anything else catch the eye?
With these teams battling out a 0-0 draw earlier in the season, it could pay to bet 1against a lot of goals, especially with Chelsea misfiring up front. Under 2.5 strikes pays 10/11 with Bet365 while betting against BTTS is 37/40 at Bet365.
Chelsea won eight corners in their home defeat to Real Madrid as they chased a victory. They should be on the front foot again here as they bid to end the slump so over 6.5 Blues corners appeals at 21/20 with Unibet.
Neither side is renowned for putting the boot in and there wasn't a single card flashed when they last faced off. That makes under 3.5 cards worth a look at 11/10 with Bet365.
This English Premier League match between Chelsea and Brentford will be played on Apr 26, 2023 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Chelsea vs Brentford prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
