Chelsea further strengthened their grip at the top of the Premier League table with a 2-0 victory over Hull City during the weekend and now the Blues look odds on favourites to lift the title.
In addition to their pursuit of the Premier League crown, manager Antonio Conte will want his players to do well in the FA Cup as well and one can be sure that the Blues will be looking for a victory when Brentford pay a visit to Stamford Bridge in a 4th round clash this weekend.
Here is the strongest possible Chelsea lineup for the clash against Brentford –
Goalkeeper
Asmir Begovic has widely been touted to leave Chelsea this month, with Bournemouth said to be interested in his services but a transfer has not materialized as of yet and it is expected that the Bosnian international will be starting on Saturday.
Defence
The match will be a great opportunity for Conte to give his fringe players a run out and it is expected that the trio of John Terry, Kurt Zouma and Ola Aina could be handed starts during the encounter instead of regulars Gary Cahill, Cesar Azpilicueta and David Luiz.
In the wing back positions, Pedro may start once again while Nathan Ake could also feature as Branislav Ivanovic looks set to exit the club soon. Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses are set to be handed rests.
Midfield
Cesc Fabregas is a certainty to start and alongside the experienced Spaniard, the youthful duo of Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Nathaniel Chalobah are expected to lineup.
This means that N’Golo Kante, Nemanja Matic and Eden Hazard look set to be only named on the bench, especially with the clash against Liverpool coming up.
Attack
Diego Costa will surely be handed a day off for the encounter and young Michy Batshuayi along with Willian are expected to be the men leading the line for the Blues.
