England Premier League
Saturday 13th May 2023
Kick off at 3pm BST
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Match Preview:
Finally it happened, Frank Lampard won his 1st game on his return as Chelsea manager as the Blues were able to beat Bournemouth 3-1 away from home. Still this has been a very poor season for the 2021 European champions as they fight for 10th place and Lampard is their third manager this season alone.
The win against Bournemouth will not convince critics though as the club were safe and Chelsea have still continued to struggle against teams who have needed the win and their opponents will be fighting for everything. For Chelsea this season now boils down to whether they can finish in the top half of the table and of course Lampard will be trying to repair his reputation and will hope that a strong finish to the season can provide him perhaps with a Premier League job next season elsewhere.
Nottingham Forest are in 16th place with 33 points and if they were to win here they would have taken a giant step to survival and many will believe that they would have done enough. Last weekend they were involved in a classic 4-3 win over bottom side Southampton and it was a much needed hard fought victory. Forest have been able to win two of their last 3 games and that has been vital to staying up and for now they look like they could do. Of course survival is still fine margins and if they were to lose here which they are expected to do and one or two teams below them wins everything changes. Let’s also remind ourselves that Forest have the worst away record in the league with just 6 points won from a possible 51 and just one win so far on the road.
Team News:
Chelsea: Mason Mount is out with a pelvic injury and expected to miss the rest of the season. Kalidou Koulibaly is out with his hamstring and not due back for another 10 days. Reece James is missing because of his hamstring, Marc Cucarella is sidelined with his thigh and may miss the rest of the season, Ben Chilwell remains out with his hamstring and Marcus Bettelini misses out again due to a knock.
Nottingham Forest: Serge Aurier will be assessed for a knock and is 50/50 to return. Jack Colback looks set to miss out once again with a head injury. Emmanuel Dennis has a knock with no update given and he must be presumed to be a doubt for this one. Gustavo Scarpa has fitness issues after a lay off and will be assessed for that. Dean Henderson and Scott McKenna have now been ruled out for the season as have Neco Williams and Chris Wood.
Chelsea vs Nottm Forest Head to Head:
Earlier in the season in the reverse fixture the sides drew 1-1.
The last 5 meetings have all been cup ones with Chelsea winning every game.
Chelsea have won 8 of the last 10 meetings.
Chelsea vs Nottm Forest Prediction:
This is a big test for Chelsea and it really shouldn’t be when you consider the quality of international class they have in their side. But we have witnessed very good players week in and out fail to get the right results but we think Lampard will really be up for this game and there are two reasons. The first of course will relate to the club and back to back wins are going to help the manager in the press. The second will be Everton, Lampard’s former club and he has a soft spot for them and knows a result here would help the Toffees.
Forest continue to have many injuries but they have fought well and they will push Chelsea here. This is a difficult game to predict because of how many times the Blues have let everyone down, but if they click we don’t give Forest a sniff here and they will have to come into this game and go for it and that could leave some gaps for some of Chelsea’s stars to expose, we expect two wins on the spin for Lampard’s side.
Chelsea vs Nottm Forest Betting Tips:
Chelsea to beat Nottingham Forest at 1.50
Anytime goalscorer: Joao Felix at 2.50
Anytime goalscorer: Mykhailo Mudryk at 3.00
The 'PLACE BET' button will take you to BetUK.com, where these selections can be found. Please gamble responsibly, 18+ BeGambleAware.org
© Copyright topfootballtipster.com 2019
