Thomas Tuchel cannot ignore Brentford warning as Chelsea given tactical World Cup boost

Thomas Tuchel did not hold back when vividly describing the emotions attached to the last time Chelsea faced Brentford in the Premier League.

"It was one of the worst moments because they were flying and had lots of belief." Tuchel told reporters on Friday afternoon. "We struggled in the last minutes like crazy, and we needed a lot of luck to escape with three points."

Tuchel is not underselling the unique stress his team was put under back in October in a feisty west London derby. For the last twenty minutes, anxious Chelsea bodies were penned back, huddled together in their own box, and the hosts unrelenting pressure swarmed towards Edouard Mendy's goal, the hostile crowd behind it willing the ball over the line.

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It was on that evening where the Senegalese shot-stopper showcased why he's now regarded as one of Europe's best over the past year, swatting away incoming shots, smothering anything in his vicinity and most impressively, tipping over a vicious overhead kick by Christian Norgaard in added time.

This win was amid a run of games where Tuchel's men firmly found their groove in Autumn. Ben Chilwell, who netted the winner in October's tight game, would soon become a highly productive presence with Reece James as the opposing wingback. Almost six months later, the picture has changed, with any hope of a title charge long gone and Chilwell on the sidelines with an ACL injury since November.

Tuchel knows the direct threat Brentford will pose on Saturday afternoon in the reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge.

"They played for a long