Joe Shread, football journalist at Sky Sports, has highlighted Cole Palmer as Chelsea’s main attacking threat ahead of the Blues’ visit to Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday.

The 21-year-old - who can play as a no.10, a false 9 and on the right wing – has 16 goal involvements (10G, 6A) in 22 Premier League appearances this season.

Chelsea are 11th in the Premier League, having endured another difficult campaign after last season's 12th-place finish. What have you made of what you've seen over the four months since the last game against Brentford?

Chelsea have been extremely frustrating this season. The defeat to Brentford in October was a perfect example, coming between positive results against Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester City.

Four months on, Chelsea are still maddeningly inconsistent. Going into last weekend's Carabao Cup final, they had just beaten Aston Villa and drawn at City, yet somehow lost at Wembley to a severely depleted Liverpool.

Every time they look to be moving forward, Chelsea shoot themselves in the foot.

Without wanting to state the obvious, is it just about finishing higher than last season from here on in?

The ambition has to be European qualification. It is hard to see how Chelsea can afford - quite literally - to spend two seasons without European football.

Speaking in September, Mauricio Pochettino guaranteed supporters that he would take the club back into Europe.

Having lost the Carabao Cup final - which would have brought a Europa Conference League place - Pochettino likely has to win the FA Cup or take Chelsea into the top six of the Premier League.

Last weekend, the Blues lost to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup, leaving the FA Cup as their only remaining hope of silverware their season. How much of a disappointment was it to see them defeated at Wembley?

It is hard to overstate how damaging that defeat could be. It was not just that Chelsea lost, but it was the way in which they did so. They had numerous chances to win the game against an injury-riddled Liverpool side inside 90 minutes, before inexplicably throwing away the initiative and seemingly deciding to play for penalties in extra-time.

That final should have been a launching pad for the Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali era, as well as helping to breed a winning culture amongst Chelsea's young squad.

Instead, defeat simply adds to questions over the quality of this expensively assembled group of players, as well as the credentials of the manager currently leading them.

Which player should Brentford fans keep an eye on?

Cole Palmer is the player for opponents to beware of, ranking first among Chelsea players for goals and assists in the Premier League this season.

The 21-year-old can play as a no.10 or a false 9, but is at his best playing off the right of the attack.

This allows him to link with the overlapping Malo Gusto, or step inside to shoot or play in team-mates.

If Brentford can shut Palmer down, they will go a long way towards stifling Chelsea's attack.

How is Pochettino likely to set up his side at the Gtech?

Pochettino has stuck pretty rigidly to a 4-2-3-1 formation this season.

Gusto and Ben Chilwell have the freedom to attack from full-back and combine with Palmer and Raheem Sterling on the wings.

Conor Gallagher has impressed as the no.10 and Nicolas Jackson is growing into his role as the no.9.

Moisés Caicedo and Enzo Fernández have failed to convince either individually or as a pair at the base of midfield.

This could be an area to attack for Brentford - as could set-pieces, where Chelsea's defensive record is fairly average.

Chelsea have lost three of the last four Premier League meetings between the teams. What's your score prediction for this one?

Surprisingly, all of Brentford's wins over Chelsea have come at Stamford Bridge, but there is no reason the Bees cannot gain their first top-flight victory at the Gtech over their west London rivals.

There is a reason Chelsea find Brentford so hard to beat - Thomas Frank's side have been well organised, strong in the air and effective at set-pieces.

The Blues struggle to break down teams that can defend in a low block, while they can be bullied aerially. There is also the potential for Chelsea to be suffering a hangover from the cup final defeat.

I am going for a 3-1 Brentford win.

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