Chelsea travel to Nottingham Forest in the Premier League this Saturday in what is a crucial game in both halves of the table.
The Blues have finally hit their stride over the last three matches, including encouraging wins against Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United most recently. Their upturn in from has seen them climb to seventh in the table and they are still in contention for Europa League or Europa Conference League qualification come the end of a testing campaign.
Nottingham Forest have plenty to play for as well this weekend as they aim to stave off relegation. The Midlands club can guarantee survival if they win and Luton Town fail to beat West Ham, or if they draw, Luton lose and Burnley fail to win. Collecting four points from their final two matches will secure safety regardless of results elsewhere.
September's clash between the sides should offer Forest hope of a positive result at the City Ground. They punished Chelsea's profligacy earlier in the season at Stamford Bridge, sneaking a 1-0 win thanks to a strike from Anthony Elanga.
Here is 90min's preview of the game.
Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea H2H record (Last Five Games)
Current form (all competitions)
Nottingham Forest | Chelsea |
|---|---|
Sheffield United 1-3 Nottingham Forest - 04/05/24 | Chelsea 5-0 West Ham - 05/05/24 |
Nottingham Forest 0-2 Man City - 28/04/24 | Tottenham 2-0 Chelsea - 02/05/24 |
Everton 2-0 Nottingham Forest - 21/04/24 | Aston Villa 2-2 Chelsea - 27/04/24 |
Nottingham Forest 2-2 Wolves - 13/04/24 | Arsenal 5-0 Chelsea - 23/04/24 |
Tottenham 3-1 Nottingham Forest - 07/04/24 | Man City 1-0 Chelsea - 20/04/24 |
Country | TV channel / live stream |
|---|---|
United Kingdom | Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Ultra HD, Sky GO, Sky GO Extra |
United States | NBC, Peacock |
Canada | fuboTV |
Nottingham Forest only have one player unavailable for the clash with Chelsea and that's Neco Williams. The right-back picked up a hamstring injury against Manchester City in late April and may miss the rest of the season.
Other than the Welshman, Forest have a fully-fit squad. Notably, Callum Hudson-Odoi is available to face his former employers, with the winger warming up for the visit of the Blues with a brace against Sheffield United last time out.
Nottingham Forest predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): Sels; Montiel, Boly, Murillo, Aina; Yates, Danilo; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood.
Chelsea still have a mountain of injuries across the pitch but they have welcomed a few players back recently. Axel Disasi and Malo Gusto featured last time out following small knocks, while Christopher Nkunku returned after over two months in the treatment room.
However, Mauricio Pochettino is still without the likes of Robert Sanchez, Ben Chilwell and Wesley Fofana across the defence, while Reece James is likely to miss out despite closing in on a return. Further forward, Enzo Fernandez, Lesley Ugochukwu and Carney Chukwuemeka are all sidelined.
Chelsea predicted lineup vs Nottingham Forest (4-2-3-1): Petrovic; Gusto, Disasi, Chalobah, Cucurella; Caicedo, Gallagher; Madueke, Palmer, Mudryk; Jackson.
With Chelsea having found some form at the right time, Saturday's battle promises to be interesting. The Blues have been impressive going forward in recent weeks as their now established front four begin to gel, while they have also managed successive clean sheets.
Forest are in desperate need of victory and will be fighting with all their might to unsettle a Chelsea team that has shown its fallibility frequently this term. The Blues haven't won any of their last three games against the Midlands side, and that may continue this weekend.