Why Enzo Maresca left Paul Merson fuming last time Chelsea played Brentford, ‘pathetic’

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Arsenal legend Paul Merson had a lot to say after Chelsea’s last trip to the Gtech Community Stadium.

While Merson is one of Arsenal’s greatest ever players, he is a Chelsea fan and watched his side draw 0-0 with Brentford that day.

This time around, Merson will be expecting three points, especially if Cole Palmer is fit.

Before the international break, Palmer picked up a small groin problem that has kept him out of Chelsea’s previous two games, which were both wins against Fulham and West Ham United.

• READ MORE: Paul Merson says one thing has ‘flabbergasted’ him about Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson this summer

Paul Merson was unhappy with Enzo Maresca after he rested Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson

Palmer did not start the last time Chelsea and Brentford met, and neither did Nicolas Jackson, who was the team’s first-choice striker at the time.

The Blues had a Conference League quarter-final tie against Legia Warsaw afterwards, so Maresca decided to make changes to his side, something Merson disagreed with.

In his column for Sky Sports, he said: “I couldn’t believe the team Enzo Maresca put out at Brentford. When that team came out, I was flabbergasted. It was pathetic. Chelsea have won the Champions League. This is the Europa Conference League — and he’s resting players for it?”

The pundit later went on to add: “Look at what happened when those subs like Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson came on. They dominated Brentford.”

While Palmer could return for Saturday’s London derby, Maresca will not have Jackson following his loan move to Bayern Munich.

Former Chelsea defender Frank Leboeuf recently discussed Jackson’s switch to Bayern, sharing his belief that the Senegal international will not trigger the German club’s obligation to buy.

Why Chelsea should not find Gtech Community Stadium trip as difficult as last season’s

Brentford have proven to be tricky opponents for Chelsea since winning promotion to the Premier League in 2021. Since then, the Blues have actually only won twice.

They struggled at the Gtech Community Stadium last season and scraped a 2-1 win in the reverse fixture.

Thomas Frank was a large reason behind Brentford’s success against their west London rivals. He set Brentford up in a low block that Chelsea rarely broke down.

However, the Dane is now gone, while the Bees do not have Bryan Mbeumo or Yoane Wissa to threaten the Club World Cup winners on the counter-attack any more. Therefore, this really should be a game that Maresca’s side win.