Bobby Vincent, football.london: The Chelsea player Brentford should pay close attention to | OneFootball

Bobby Vincent, senior Chelsea correspondent for football.london, has revealed the Blues player Brentford should pay "close attention to" ahead of the west London derby at Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday.

Enzo Maresca's side have started the season unbeaten, with only Liverpool picking up more points than them so far this term, with many of their young talents impressing at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea have made a brilliant start to the Premier League season, with two wins, one draw, seven scored and just one conceded. What did you make of the opening few weeks?

It was largely positive. The first game against Crystal Palace was a bit of a toothless performance in attack and, to be honest, Palace can count themselves a bit unfortunate not to have come away with three points.

With the Club World Cup, many people did not know - and still do not know, really - what to expect from Chelsea and whether the amount of football, with very little break, would take its toll on the players.

Chelsea played West Ham at a very good time and put them to the sword at London Stadium, with those attacking concerns from five days prior completely gone versus the Hammers.

The Fulham performance was a bit mixed. Fulham probably had the better first half, but Chelsea came out a different side after the half-time break and it was a professional performance in the end.

A positive start, no doubt, given only Liverpool have more points than them going into Gameweek 4.

The momentum seems to have just been building and building since April, with six wins from the last nine in the Premier League in 2024/25, glory in both the Conference League and the Club World Cup, a promising - albeit short - pre-season and then the aforementioned start. From the outside, it would suggest morale is through the roof - is that the case?

It does seem as if morale is very high at the moment, yes. This group of young players exceeded everyone’s expectations last season with two major honours and a Champions League finish to their name.

The players have all bought into everything about Enzo Maresca and the supporters are now feeling the same.

It took its time, as it always does at Chelsea, but everyone seems to be on board with what is happening at Stamford Bridge right now.

It was a very busy summer in the transfer window, in terms of both incomings and outgoings. Do you think it was a success for Chelsea, on the whole?

In terms of upgrading on what they have, as of right now, it looks to be a successful one.

Noni Madueke, Jadon Sancho and the suspended Mykhailo Mudryk have essentially been replaced by Jamie Gittens, Estêvão and Alejandro Garnacho.

Nicolas Jackson was loaned out on Deadline Day, with João Pedro and Liam Delap arriving earlier in the window.

Competition and support have been brought in for Moisés Caicedo and Marc Cucurella, with Dário Essugo and Jorrel Hato, respectively, signing for the Blues.

However, the last few days of the window left a sour taste for some Chelsea supporters. They wanted Xavi Simons to come from RB Leipzig and held talks with the German club for over a month, but never made an actual bid. In came Tottenham and he went there instead.

Attention then switched to Fermín López, but a move never materialised in that regard.

Facundo Buonanotte was brought in on Deadline Day and that left many underwhelmed, although it is completely unfair to judge him and write him off before he has even kicked a ball for Chelsea.

Which player should Brentford be keeping an eye out for on Saturday?

João Pedro has been outstanding since signing from Brighton earlier in the summer.

He has started the season wonderfully, too, scoring in back-to-back matches against West Ham and Fulham.

The Brazilian is a big goal threat, but his work off the ball is equally as impressive. Brentford should definitely be paying close attention to the 23-year-old forward this weekend.

What should Keith Andrews’ men expect in terms of shape and style?

Maresca usually picks a team that, on paper, will look like a four at the back but, when his side are in possession, there are a few changes.

For instance, Cucurella often comes more centrally and acts as a no.10, with the right-back on the other side - usually Malo Gusto or Reece James - taking a few steps inside to form a back three alongside the two other central defenders.

Enzo Fernández will then push forward and also act as a no.10, with two wingers either side of him trying to keep the width.

What’s your score prediction?

Chelsea have not won at Gtech Community Stadium since 2021, and it has notoriously been a difficult place for them to go.

I am expecting it to be very tight, but hopefully there are more goals than last season!

The Blues have started the season well and I am expecting them to continue that on Saturday, though it will not be straightforward.

I am going for 1-0 to Chelsea.