England Premier League
Saturday 2nd September 2023
Kick off at 3pm BST
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Match Preview:
And it happened… Chelsea won a game and yes the pressure cooking wasn’t exactly overflowing but when you spend £800m in three transfer windows and over £400m this summer questions are going to be asked even if you go a few games without victory. The Blues started the campaign by not losing to Liverpool but the 1-1 draw did mean they dropped two points at home. That was followed up by a 3-1 loss away to West Ham and then the joy, but let’s be realistic, beating Luton should be the normal and expected for a side like Chelsea. The result was a 3-0 win last week and Raheem Sterling who is hardly having a great time at the club scored and perhaps that is the perfect tonic to get him off and running. In between the victory another player has come in, Cole Palmer from Manchester City and perhaps this is a surprise that the champions would let young Palmer go, he had scored in some key games and looked like one for the future.
Nottingham Forest may have taken 3 points from their opening 9 given that two of their opponents so far have been Arsenal and Manchester United and been away games. Their last game was a close one though and they went 2-0 up against Erik ten Hag’s side before the comeback and that would have been a disappointing result for the club in the end to come away with nothing. Forest have beaten Sheffield United but this game represents a difficult one, although could one also see a potential banana skin for Chelsea? In midweek Forest were knocked out of the EFL Cup as they were beaten by Premier League side Burnley in a 1-0 defeat.
Team News:
Chelsea: Romeo Lavia and Armando Broja are not due back for at least two weeks due to a lack of match fitness. Trevoh Chabolah is out with his hamstring, Carney Chukwuemeka is out for at least three weeks with a knee injury. Reece James is still sidelined with his hamstring and not due back for two weeks. Wesley Fofana is out long term with his knee, Christopher Nkunku is out for a period of time with his knee and Mykhalio Mudryk has a knock and is only 50/50 to be ready for this game.
Nottingham Forest: Andrey Santos cannot play against his parent club, Orel Mangala will be assessed due to a knock. Scott McKenna could return from his hamstring but will have to be assessed first. Omar Richards is out long term with a muscle injury.
Chelsea vs Nottm Forest Head to Head:
Last season the clubs drew 2-2 in this fixture.
Chelsea have won 7 of the past 9 meetings although they failed to beat Forest in their games last season.
Nottingham Forest haven’t won away to Chelsea since 1995.
Chelsea vs Nottm Forest Prediction:
Chelsea of course will be the favourites and although they struggled over Forest last season so much has changed at the club even in that short space of time. The club needs to identify themselves under Mauricio Pochettino and simply put that means establishing a solid home record where teams fear to travel here once more. The victory over Luton was a boost and it was good for the club to see a clean sheet at the same time and they need to continue this process.
Forest won’t be expected to win and they may come into this match quite relaxed against a team who will have all of the pressure on them and are still not clicking and it is why Chelsea represent zero value in this game. That isn’t saying that they won’t win it, we feel they will but they will have obstacles to get over here and nothing is assured that this will be as easy as it looks on paper.
Chelsea vs Nottm Forest Betting Tips:
Half Time: Correct Score: 0-0 or 1-0 to Chelsea at 3.25 and 3.75
Anytime goalscorer: Nicolas Jackson at 2.10
Highest Scoring Half: 2nd half at 2.05
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