The Blues have been on fire, with back-to-back 4-2 victories over Brighton & Hove Albion and Gent this past week. In contrast, Nottingham Forest suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat to Fulham last weekend.
Cole Palmer stole the show against Brighton, scoring four goals in one half, an all-time Premier League first, but Chelsea spread the love against Gent on Thursday. Renato Veiga, Pedro Neto, Christopher Nkunku, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall all found the back of the net in their Europa Conference League opener.
Chelsea fans even had a moment of nostalgia when Gent’s first goal was assisted by the son of former striker Eidur Gudjohnsen, but sentimentality quickly gave way to business as usual, with Chelsea securing a fifth straight win. This impressive run includes three Premier League victories over Bournemouth, West Ham, and Brighton, firmly placing them in the race for Champions League spots.
Chelsea’s attack has been ruthless, with only Liverpool, Arsenal, and Man City outperforming them before the start of gameweek seven. They’ve scored 15 goals, the best attacking record in the league so far. In fact, Chelsea have netted 16 goals in their last four matches alone, and with a league-best shot conversion rate of 20.3%, Maresca’s tactics are clearly clicking.
While Chelsea have been lighting up the scoreboard, Nottingham Forest has been grinding out results with hard-fought wins and tight draws. However, their unbeaten run finally came to an end last weekend with a 1-0 loss to Fulham, courtesy of a second-half penalty from Raul Jimenez.
Despite the loss, Forest are sitting comfortably in mid-table, 10th place to be exact, with a six-point cushion both above the relegation zone and below league leaders Liverpool. Their recent away form is impressive, with 13 points from their last 15 on the road and four straight wins before a 2-2 draw with Brighton two weeks ago.
Forest will be hoping to repeat last season’s shock 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge, thanks to an Anthony Elanga strike. However, Chelsea got their revenge with a 3-2 win at the City Ground and haven’t lost back-to-back home league games to Forest in over a century.
INJURIES & SUSPENSION
Chelsea's injury list is nearly clear, with only captain Reece James and Omari Kellyman still recovering from thigh injuries. There's no set date yet for James' return. Midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka missed the Gent game last minute due to illness, but he wasn’t likely to feature in the Premier League anyway as Maresca plans to field his strongest lineup.Jadon Sancho, who was rested during the midweek match, has assisted a goal in each of his three Premier League appearances for Chelsea so far. He could now match Cesc Fabregas' record by becoming only the second player to assist in his first four games for the Blues.
On the other side, Nottingham Forest will welcome back Morgan Gibbs-White, whose creativity was missed during his one-game suspension against Fulham. Nicolas Dominguez may make way for Gibbs-White, but other changes could also happen up front. Taiwo Awoniyi, who was subbed off at halftime against Fulham, might be replaced by either Anthony Elanga or former Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Forest still have Ibrahim Sangare (thigh) and Danilo (ankle) out injured, but otherwise, they have a healthy squad heading into their clash with Chelsea.
POSSIBLE LINE-UPS
Chelsea possible starting lineup:Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Fernandez, Caicedo; Madueke, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Moreno; Ward-Prowse, Anderson; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood
EXPERT PREDICTION
Chelsea 2-1 Nottingham Forest
That said, with Cole Palmer in form, Chelsea should still find a way through, and a reshuffled Blues lineup is likely to have little trouble securing their sixth straight win.
