Nottingham Forest v Chelsea: Preview, Team News and Predictions
Chelsea will be looking to snare successive Premier League victories for the first time since wins over the Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa in the second week of October, when they travel to the City Ground to face-off against a floundering Nottingham Forest, on New Year’s Day.
The Blues eased the mounting pressure with a vital 2-0 win over AFC Bournemouth, courtesy of first-half strikes from Kai Havertz and Mason Mount. Currently six points adrift of fourth-placed Tottenham with a game in hand, this will be the perfect opportunity to narrow the gap and engage fellow top four challengers.
While Chelsea have not won their first league of the calendar for four years now, seven consecutive wins in all competitions against Nottingham Forest will inject substantial optimism, if the latter’s form already does not offer any.
Steve Cooper’s charges have only accumulated three wins all season, and if they are to survive, the manager and an unsettled unit will have to find some winning momentum before they realise the pace of the Premier League’s jam packed fixture list has left them behind.
Without key creators in Morgan Gibbs-White and Jesse Lingard, it’s a Herculean task. But for all the financial flexing in the summer, Nottingham Forest know they have the names to upset Chelsea.
Team News
Nottingham Forest
Cooper will be ruing the injury of one of his more prominent players in Jesse Lingard, who hobbled off against his former club.
Dean Henderson, arguably Nottingham Forest’s player of the season thus far, will slot straight back into the XI having missed out against his parent club.
Chiekhou Kouyate and Guilian Biancone will be missed, whereas Morgan Gibbs-White’s involvement is unlikely as he continues to recover. Speaking after the loss at Old Trafford, Cooper said:
“Morgan is still a little bit inconclusive in terms of when we think he’ll be back. We’ll cross bridges as they come. My focus is always on the guys who are training and the guys who are available for the next guys, that’s where my attention will lie.”
Omar Richards and Moussa Niakhate are other names to complete this long list of injured players for the hosts.
Chelsea
Unable to catch a break, Chelsea were handed another setback when Reece James suffered a knee injury just before the hour mark against the Cherries.
On the positive side of things, World Cup semi-finalists Hakim Ziyech and Mateo Kovacic are set to return to the match day squad.
Meanwhile, Wesley Fofana, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Ben Chilwell and Edouard Mendy remain side lined.
And N’Golo Kante, who is poised to extend his deal at Stamford Bridge, is a long-term absentee.
Predicted XI
Nottingham Forest probable line-up (4-3-3): Henderson; Neco Williams, Worrall, Boly, Lodi; Freuler, Mangala, Yates; Johnson, Dennis, Awoniyi
Chelsea probable line-up (4-3-3): Kepa Arrizabalaga; Azpilicueta, Silva, Chalobah, Cucurella; Kovacic, Jorginho; Sterling, Mount, Pulisic; Havertz
Match Predictions
All defeats that have put Potter under the scanner have come against teams currently pitted in the top seven, making it difficult to look beyond Chelsea in this match-up.
As Potter exclaimed, the injury-hit side are better staffed than they were before the World Cup break, and with the talent on offer, they could sweep Forest aside as well.
Predicted score: Nottingham Forest 1-3 Chelsea
-Roy Akarshak
Twitter: @RoyAkarshak
Photo: El Loco. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.