Chelsea predicted XI vs. Brentford: Two changes made as Blues face big Cole Palmer decision

Chelsea will hope to continue their positive start to the new Premier League season on Saturday when they make the short trip across London to take on Brentford – but the Blues could be missing several important players.

The chief concern is the fitness of key playmaker Cole Palmer, who missed both Chelsea’s previous two matches and the international break due to a groin injury, but he is just one of seven first-teamers who could be unavailable this weekend - while there are also concerns of the availability of new signing Alejandro Garnacho, who could make his debut along with loanee Facundo Buonanotte.

We’ve got all of the latest team news and injury updates ahead of the Brentford match below, along with a full predicted line-up.

Will Cole Palmer play for Chelsea this weekend?

Palmer aggravated a pre-existing groin injury during the warm-up before the recent win over West Ham United and hasn’t featured since – and Chelsea have been cagey about his condition in the build-up to this week’s fixture.

Eagle-eyed fans spotted what appeared to be Palmer in the background of training photos taken from Cobham during the week and Enzo Maresca confirmed during his Friday press conference that the England international was back on grass and practicing.

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The initial prognosis was that the injury was relatively minor, with his withdrawal from the squad to play Fulham reported as being largely precautionary, but Maresca did not sound optimistic about Palmer’s chances of playing, saying only that the club “will try” to get him fit but would continue to rest him if he wasn’t back up to full speed. It currently looks likely that Palmer misses out for one more week.

There is, at least, good news regarding João Pedro, who was seen vomiting on the pitch during a recent Brazil match after being hurt in a collision with team-mate Gabriel Martinelli. It has since been confirmed that the forward has not sustained a significant injury and is not believed to be at any risk of missing time for his club.

Will Alejandro Garnacho start for Chelsea?

There is also speculation as to how involved summer signing Garnacho will be following his move from Manchester United. The Argentine was not included in his national squad following a limited pre-season and will likely take some time to get up to full match fitness.

As such, Garnacho is not expected to start against Brentford and a decision will have to be made on whether he makes the bench or has to wait for his debut - bit in his pre-match press conference, Maresca said that he was hopeful that Garnacho would get some minutes. Deadline day signing Buonanotte should be ready to play if required.

Two players who are closing in on returns but who remain unlikely to feature against Brentford are defender Benoît Badiashile and perennially-crocked midfielder Lavia, both of whom are expected to be fit again by the end of September following unspecified injuries sustained in pre-season.

Liam Delap is expected to miss up to 12 weeks thanks to a serious hamstring injury and will not return until December. Marc Guiu has been recalled from his loan spell at Sunderland to provide cover up front and could be on the bench this weekend.

Meanwhile, youngster Dario Essugo was the lone victim of the international break. The 20-year-old sustained a serious thigh injury while training with Portugal’s Under-21s and has undergone surgery – no return date has been set but it would be a pleasant surprise if he played again in 2025. Mykhaylo Mudryk remains suspended due to an alleged doping violation and Levi Colwill will miss most of the season with an ACL injury.

Full Chelsea predicted line-up vs. Brentford: Sánchez; Cucurella, Adarabioyo, Chalobah, James; Fernández, Caicedo; Gittens, Estevão, Neto; João Pedro.