"Slowly but surely" - Mark Lawrenson makes interesting Chelsea vs Brentford prediction ahead of London derby

Former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson has predicted a 2-1 win for Chelsea in their Premier League clash against Brentford on Saturday, October 28.

The Blues are in decent form coming into this game and haven't lost in their last four matches across competitions. They won three games on the trot before squandering a two-goal lead to Arsenal to draw 2-2 in the league at home last weekend.

Brentford, meanwhile, are 14th with 10 points in nine matches so far. They have won just two league games so far this season but travel to Stamford Bridge on the back of an inspiring 3-0 win at home to Burnley.

Giving his predictions for this London derby, Lawrenson said, via PaddyPower:

"Brentford won comfortably last weekend and it could have been five or six against Burnley. I’m going to go with Chelsea to win this, though. Slowly but surely they’ve started to chip away at their problems and the longer Mauricio Pochettino is in charge the better their results will be. Chelsea 2-1 Brentford."

Chelsea started the season poorly, winning just two of their first seven matches across competitions. That is why they still sit 10th in the table with 12 points despite their recent turnaround in form.

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Brentford enjoy a better recent head-to-head record against Chelsea

Brentford are surprisingly unbeaten in their last three games across competitions against London rivals Chelsea.

The Bees played out a goalless draw in October 2022 at the Gtech Community Stadium in their first top-flight season after a 74-year wait. They secured an impressive 2-0 league win at Stamford Bridge in the reverse fixture in April, with Cesar Azpilicueta's own goal and Bryan Mbeumo's strike doing the trick.

Brentford's aforementioned win at the Bridge came just over a year after their memorable 4-1 triumph at the same venue in the 2021-22 season. Vitaly Janelt (x2), Christian Eriksen, and Yoane Wissa got on the scoresheet that day.

It is still Brentford's biggest win against Chelsea to date. The Blues have never beaten the Bees in the Premier League at home, largely owing to the latter's absence from the first division in recent decades.