Chelsea v Nottingham Forest – Preview, Predictions, and Best Bets

Chelsea host Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge on Saturday in the English Premier League. The Blues ended a nine-match winless run last time out whilst Forest opened up a three gap on the bottom three with a home win. The visitors have taken just six points on their travels all season.

Chelsea Form

Chelsea have had an awful season. They had a run of one win in 11, followed by three wins, and were on a nine-match winless streak going into last weekend. In that time, there have been home losses in the league to Aston Villa, Brighton, and Brentford. Real Madrid made light work of the Pensioners, winning 2-0 both home and away in the Champions League.

The Blues went into the away game at Arsenal having scored just once in seven fixtures. A 3-1 defeat was forthcoming as they trailed 3-0 after 34 minutes. Their last match brought a 3-1 win at AFC Bournemouth. It was 1-1 after 81 minutes before two late goals to seal three points.

Chelsea Team News

Coach Frank Lampard has plenty of injuries to contend with. Reece James, Marc Cucurella, and Mason Mount were already ruled out and Wesley Fofana missed the Bournemouth match. Ben Chilwell was injured in that fixture, leaving a gap at left-back. Either teenager Lewis Hall or Cesar Azpilicueta will deputise.

In attack, Joao Felix and Raheem Sterling had a big impact as subs against the Cherries. Both are hoping for starts in the front three. Mykhailo Mudryk and Kai Havertz are the players most at risk of being benched. Noni Madueke and Conor Gallagher impressed last time out and will keep their spots.

Chelsea Motivation

The Blues will see this as a chance to get another win and some confidence back. They will attack and play to win.

With Man Utd, Man City, and Newcastle in their final three fixtures, Chelsea may not get a better chance to take three points until next season.

Forest Form

Two games back, Forest were in 19^th place and were hitting a bad run of form at just the wrong time. They were on a run of eight losses and three draws in 11 matches with all five of their away fixtures seeing defeats. After a 2-0 loss at in-form Aston Villa, they were easily beaten 2-0 at home by Man Utd. A 3-2 defeat at Anfield saw them put up a good fight but three goals from set-pieces were conceded.

They’ve since given themselves a decent chance of survival. A 3-1 home win against a tired-looking Brighton was a fine result having trailed 1-0. A 1-0 lead at Brentford after 81 minutes turned into a late 2-1 loss. On Monday, they won 4-3 at home to relegation rivals Southampton. It was a nervy finish but they held on.  

Forest Team News

Steve Cooper has had a long injury list all season, which shows no signs of easing up. Neco Williams and Scott McKenna are amongst the defenders ruled out, whilst Chris Wood is absent up front. Jonjo Shelvey is another who will be missing in the engine room.

The side has quite a settled 4-3-3 shape. The recent returns of Wily Boly and Cheikhou Kouyate have boosted options in defence and midfield respectively. It’s expected to be an unchanged XI from the one which beat Southampton.  

Forest Motivation

Forest needs points, as three is not enough to keep them up. They will have a go at Chelsea with the speed of Brennan Johnson down the right. A draw would be a superb result for Cooper’s team.

No team in the league has taken fewer away points and they tend to lack some focus and belief on their travels.

Key Stats

Chelsea have won their last 4 home matches against Nottingham Forest (all competitions).

Chelsea are winless in 5 home league matches (DLDLL)

CFC have failed to score in 5 of their last 8 league matches at Stamford Bridge

Nottingham Forest’s last 4 EPL games have seen Over 2.5 goals.

Nottingham Forest have conceded at least 2+ goals in 6 of their last 7 EPL matches.

Forest have the worst away record in the league, losing 12 of 16 matches (just 7 goals scored)

Verdict

This should be a good match. Chelsea wants to end their bad run at home and face a Forest side who are awful travellers. A home win looks most likely for that reason. Both sides should score in the match.

Best Bet: Both Teams to Score at 1.90
Value Bet: Chelsea win and Both Teams to Score at 3.50
Alternative Bet: Chelsea win/draw double chance + Over 2.5 Goals at 2.15

James O'Connor

James is a football analyst who writes about the tactics of the PSL and English Premier League. He holds the UEFA A coaching licence and has previously worked for several clubs in analysis roles.Twitter: https://twitter.com/footy_analysis