Chelsea team captain Reece James finally returned from his most recent injury rehabilitation, to make a cameo in the 2-2 draw with Arsenal last weekend. Now the English fullback will be hoping to return to the starting XI.
While James is back, the Blues injury list remains very long, as at least six players will be ruled out of the Saturday midday home fixture against Brentford.
Chelsea FC vs Brentford FYIs
Kickoff: Sat. Oct. 28,ย 12:30pm, Stamford Bridge, London, UK
Chelsea Preview Material:ย Full Fitness/Injury Reportย ย Starting XI Prediction
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America:ย LINK
PL Position, Form: Chelseaย 10th, 12 pts, DWWLDย ย Brentford 18th, 4 pts, WLDLL
Google Result Probability: Chelseaย 59% ย Draw 23%ย Brentfordย 18%
Team News for Both Sides
The long-term absentee list now reads as follows: Carney Chukwuemeka (knee), Trevor Chalobah (thigh), Romeo Lavia (ankle), Ben Chilwell (thigh), Christopher Nkunku (knee) and Wesley Fofana (knee).
There is better news though with Armando Broja (knee), as the striker could be in contention to feature here.
Switching over to the Bees, Ben Mee (what a perfect name for a Bees player to have!) was fit enough to make the squad last time out, and will now hope to feature this time.
Also, Aaron Hickey is back from his suspension.
And finally, Thomas Frank will be without the services of the following seven players: Rico Henry (knee), Ivan Toney (the much publicized and very lengthy suspension due to his breeching of betting rules),
Kevin Schade (adductor), Joshua Dasilva (thigh), Shandon Baptiste (shoulder), Mikkel Damsgaard (knee) and Keane Lewis-Potter (lower leg).
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager ofย The Sports Bank.ย Heโs also theย author of โTransatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,โ andย โNo, I Canโt Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.โ
Heโs written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News,ย Sports Illustratedย andย theย Chicago Tribune.ย He regularly appears onย NTD Newsย andย WGN News Now.ย Follow the websiteย onย Twitterย andย Instagram.
