Chelsea will look to boost their top-four hopes and start 2023 with a win when they travel to the City Ground to face Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on New Year’s Day. Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea English Premier League. The Blues secured a comfortable win over Bournemouth last time out, but were beaten by Manchester United at Old Trafford in tricky tries.
Six days after beating Blackburn Rovers 4-1 in the fourth round of the EFL Cup, Nottingham Forest saw their four-game unbeaten run in all competitions come to an end after losing 3-0 against Man United on Tuesday night.
Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea English Premier League
Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Fred were all on the scoresheet as Steve Cooper’s side struggled to keep a glove on the Red Devils and eventually fell to their ninth league defeat of the season.
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Forest are the only team to have secured maximum points away from home in the top flight so far this campaign and Cooper’s men remain in the relegation zone, but at the time of writing they are just one point away from safety and just four points behind. 13th behind Leicester City. Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea English Premier League.
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While their away form has left a bit to be desired, Forest have enjoyed more success in front of their own fans at the City Ground so far, picking up 11 of their 13 Premier League points on home soil. Indeed, the Tricky Trees are unbeaten in their last four home league matches, alternating between draws against Aston Villa and Brentford in between hard-fought 1-0 wins over Liverpool and Crystal Palace.
Forest won 11 of their 19 Premier League matches in January with an impressive record of their best win rate (58%) in a month in the competition; Only Man United (65%) have a higher January win rate than Forest in Premier League history.
Chelsea, meanwhile, ended a four-game losing streak to claim a 2-0 win over Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
At a Glance
Kai Havertz and Mason Mount both scored inside the first 24 minutes and although the Blues had many chances to extend their lead, they eventually ran out comfortable winners and picked up their first three points in the Premier League since 16 October. Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea English Premier League.
Graham Potter’s side are eighth in the top-flight standings but Tottenham Hotspur’s draw with Brentford on Boxing Day means the Blues drop to fourth with a game in hand on their London rivals.
Chelsea have lost each of their last three away games in the last few weeks before the World Cup, conceding seven goals in the process. Potter will now be keen to see signs of improvement on their travels as three of their next four fixtures in all competitions are away from Stamford Bridge.
The west Londoners have also failed to win their first league match in the past six calendar years, but their record against Nottingham Forest at least looks good ahead of Sunday’s contest as they have won their last seven meetings with the Tricky Trees, scoring at least twice on each occasion.
Also, Chelsea have lost just one of their last 11 away league matches against promoted sides, losing 3–0 to Sheffield United in July 2020. Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea English Premier League.
Possible Lineups
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Henderson; Williams, Worrall, Boly, Lodi; Yates, Freuler, Mangala; Johnson, Awoniyi, Dennis
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Kepa; Azpilicueta, Koulibaly, Thiago Silva, Cucurella; Gallagher, Jorginho, Mount; Sterling, Havertz, Pulisic
Prediction Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea English Premier League
We say: Nottingham Forest 0-2 Chelsea
Both teams have been hit by injuries since the restart, but Chelsea are the team with the strongest squad and will be considered favorites to take maximum points on New Year’s Day.
Forest have already beaten both Liverpool ad Tottenham at home so far this season, with the latter victory coming in the EFL Cup, but they may struggle to keep Chelsea’s fluid frontline quiet this time around.
