It is going to be an interesting clash when Nottingham Forest welcomes Chelsea to the City Ground on match day 37 of the 2023/24 Premier League season. The hosts have had it rough on and off the pitch, while the Blues have also not been able to garner any real momentum throughout the campaign.
Forest started the season quite slowly as they lost two of their opening three games of the season, although they faced Arsenal and Manchester United throughout that period while beating Sheffield United at home for their first points of the season. A win at Stamford Bridge over Chelsea secured their second win before a 1-1 draw with Burnley at home then the poor form got elongated as they went five games without a win. However, a comprehensive 2-0 win raised the hopes of the fans but the barren form returned almost immediately. The Reds went seven games without a win and Steve Cooper was sacked as manager.
In came former Tottenham boss Nuno Espirito Santo and he has been able to help the team win two of his opening three games with the wins coming against Newcastle United and Manchester United. It was a relief to end 2023 in such a good mood and with 2024 now here, the team will be focused on beating the drop and garnering necessary points to keep them in the Premier League. However, the year has not been particularly great for them off the pitch as well. The Reds were docked four points for breaching the financial fair play rules and that has drawn them into the relegation fight. On the pitch, they have only won twice in 2024, a 2-0 win over West Ham at home and the recent 3-1 win over Fulham at the City Ground as well on match day 31.
As of the time of writing, Nottingham Forest has 25 points from 32 games and they sit outside the drop zone by just a goal difference.
Meanwhile, Chelsea made substantial investments during the offseason, committing over £300 million to transfers. Among the notable arrivals were the £100 million acquisition Moisés Caicedo, who chose Chelsea over Liverpool, Robert Sánchez from Brighton, Axel Disasi and Lesley Ugochukwu from the French Ligue 1, Cole Palmer from rivals Manchester City, Nicolas Jackson from La Liga side Villarreal, Romeo Lavia from relegated Southampton, and Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig this summer.
The Blues then let go of Kai Havertz, Mason Mount, Mateo Kovacic, Kalidou Koulibaly, Christian Pulisic, Edouard Mendy, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Ethan Ampadu, Romelu Lukaku Callum Hudson-Odoi, César Azpilicueta, N’Golo Kanté, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Hakim Ziyech, Tiemoué Bakayoko, and a host of other young players. And of course, Mauricio Pochettino took over as coach in the summer. Unfortunately for Chelsea, Nkunku and Lavia were injured for a while but have finally made some appearances in the Premier League with the former scoring in the defeat at Wolves.
Chelsea have had a topsy-turvy campaign, picking 44 points from 30 games. They lost 2-1 to Manchester United at Old Trafford before another 2-0 defeat to Everton at Goodison Park. Red Devils. They have also suffered losses to Newcastle United, Brentford, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, and West Ham this season. But aside from Manchester United, the Blues have not lost to any other member of the top six. Under Pochettino, the Blues have played well, but the results have just not panned out in their favor.
The Blues have claimed some impressive results – avoided defeats to Manchester City and came from behind to beat Manchester United at home -, while also failing to get the job done against the relegation contenders like Burnley and Sheffield United. In the FA Cup, the Blues have booked a place in the semis and do have another shot at silverware after February’s disappointing defeat to Liverpool in the Carabao Cup.
The head-to-head record shows that Nottingham Forest and Chelsea have played 13 Games since 1995. Among them, Nottingham Forest has won two games (Total Goals scored 10), Chelsea has won 7 (Total Goals 22), and they have drawn 4.
This match at City Ground in Nottingham kicks off on Saturday 11th May 2024, at 5:30 PM UK time.
Forest’s 30,445-capacity stadium will be the venue for this clash between two teams with a different focus for the remainder of the season.
Getting Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea could take a lot of work given the standard of this game. Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club’s channels.
Nuno Espirito Santo has been given a tough job of keeping Forest up in the Premier League. At first, he has had to battle a lot of injuries in his squad, but at this time, the list has reduced greatly. Only Taiwo Awoniyi, Nuno Varela Tavares, and Wily Bolly are currently out injured. However, they could all be available for selection in the coming weeks.
With that being said, Chris Wood has been flourishing in the absence of Awoniyi and he will be keen to extend his goalscoring form when the Blues come to the City Ground.
Nottingham Forest XI: Turner; Montiel, Omobamidele, Worrall, Toffolo; Danilo, Mangala; Yates, Dominguez, Hudson-Odoi; Wood
The Blues have battled injuries all season and their list is not getting cleared up anytime soon. Romeo Lavia and Wesley Fofana are not expected to feature again this season for the Blues, while captain Reece James, Ben Chilwell, Christopher Nkunku, Levi Colwill, and Robert Sanchez should be available for selection.
Chelsea XI: Petrovic, Gusto, Disasi, Badiashile, Cucurella, Caicedo, Enzo, Gallagher, Palmer, Mudryk, Jackson.
Nottingham Forest has a lot to fight for until the end of the season as they hope to stay up in the elite division. This game against the Blues is a crucial one and it could determine where they will be playing their football next season.
As for the Blues, their inconsistency is the only reason they are not clear favourites here. However, if Pochettino can motivate his boys to give a final push, all three points could be theirs.
However, the Reds won the reverse fixture and they can do it all again at the City Ground.
Nottingham Forest 2-1 Chelsea
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