Date: Sunday 6th October
2024
Venue: Stamford Bridge
Kick-off: 14:00 GMT
We followed up our 4-2 against Brighton last weekend with
the same scoreline against Gent midweek, albeit with a second string, so scoring
doesn’t seem to be the problem it has been for the last few seasons. The
tendency to switch off when we’re ahead however, does still need addressing because
we wont always have the cushion we’ve had in our last 2 games.
This afternoon’s game sees us back at Stamford Bridge to
host Nottingham Forest. They lost 1-0 to our neighbours last time out and sit
10th in the table currently but have 4 wins and a draw from their
last 5 away games. They’re a tight side defensively, so I don’t see a cushion
happening against them and our own defence will need to be switched on.
Forest beat us 1-0 in this fixture last season and we’ve
managed just one win against them in our four meetings since they returned to
the Premier League, so there’s a test ahead for our young players this
afternoon.
.
MANAGER’S VIEWS
Going into
today’s game, Enzo Maresca says “I think we are performing very positively,
especially in attack, it’s going very well so we are happy. As I said many
times already, for sure there are always things we can do better. We can attack
better, we can defend much better. But the most important thing we can learn is
that we cannot switch off.
I really
don’t think we can compete with City or Arsenal. I really don’t think that
because we are not ready. The reason is that City has worked with the same
manager for nine years and Arsenal five years. If you want to compete for big
things you need that time. After Arsenal beat PSG [in the Champions League on
Tuesday] they asked Luis Enrique and he said the same thing, that ‘Arsenal have
had the same manager for five years and [PSG] a year and a half’. Imagine us,
three months … so it’s a huge difference. So I am really convinced we cannot
compete with those clubs. The target is to improve and slowly, slowly to get
closer to those clubs but at the moment we are not ready for that.”
Nottingham
Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo, meanwhile, says “There is a lot of
talent in Chelsea’s squad and Chelsea are much more than individual players.
They have a very good idea of football and the way they create possession, and
then it’s about releasing the space for the talented players. For us, it’s
always about the team the spaces and organisation. If we can in some way
prevent the good players from putting the balls in the right spaces then we are
doing good work.”
SQUAD NEWS
For Chelsea, Reece James (hamstring)
remains out as our only absentee.
For Nottingham Forest, Danilo (ankle) and
Ibrahim Sangare (thigh) are long-term absentees. Morgan Gibbs-White is back
from suspension.
TEAMS
CHELSEA (Possible line-up): Sanchez;
Gusto, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Fernandez, Caicedo; Madueke, Palmer, Sancho;
Jackson
NOTTINGHAM FOREST (Possible line-up): Sels;
Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Moreno; Ward-Prowse, Anderson; Elanga, Gibbs-White,
Hudson-Odoi; Wood
LAST SEASON
Chelsea 0-1 Nottingham
Forest (2nd September 2023)
CURRENT FORM (PL)
CHELSEA: LWDWWW
NOTTINGHAM FOREST: DWDWDL
OTHER STUFF
- Chelsea
have won just one of the four meetings since Nottingham Forest returned to the
Premier League in 2022.
- Chelsea
have won nine of their last 11 Premier League games.
- Chelsea
have 15 goals so far this season (most in the division).
- Nottingham
Forest have taken 13 points from their past five Premier League away games.
- Forest
could remain unbeaten in six top-flight away games for the first time since
1995.
PREDICTION
Sportsmole: Chelsea 2-0 Nottingham Forest