12/5Forest (5-4-1): Matz Sels; Gonzalo Montiel; Willy Boly; Murillo; Moussa Niakhaté; Ola Aina; Morgan Gibbs-White; Ryan Yates; Danilo; Callum Hudson-Odoi; Chris Wood;
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Đorđe Petrović; Trevoh Chalobah; Thiago Silva; Benoît Badiashile; Marc Cucurella; Moisés Caicedo; Conor Gallagher; Noni Madueke; Cole Palmer; Mykhaylo Mudryk; Nicolas Jackson;
Nottingham has yet to avoid relegation from the Premier League but hopes to do it this round. There are several options for that to happen, but the most desirable is for Chelsea to be beaten at the City Ground. However, the visitors from London are showing the form that could easily have seen them challenge for the Top 4 if they had started playing this way a little earlier.
Nottingham hasn’t won often of late but did so in their most crucial game of the season so far. It was last week at Bramall Lane, and the host in that game, Sheffield United, deserved to be at least two goals up at the break. Luck, however, was in Nottingham’s favour. After the break, the Red and Whites were the better team on the pitch, and they managed to win three valuable points with a score of 3:1.
At the end of the season, the mood in the Chelsea fans returned. In their last two games, the Blues managed to win the city derbies against Tottenham and West Ham, not even conceding a goal at Stamford Bridge. The Hammers were beaten 5-0, with four players among the scorers. The final score could have been even more expressive, as the xG statistic (4.31) suggests.
Nottingham needs three points today, and they already achieved those against this opponent earlier in the season. The Red and Whites won 1-0 on September 2, but at this point, Chelsea looks much more stable than they did back then. The fact is that the good results for the Blues have been mainly at home, and an away win has been missing since five Championship visits, but it might be time for a win in the last home game of the season.
Nottingham Forest were unlucky at their previous home fixture, and Chris Wood was to blame for the 0-2 loss to champions Manchester City. We have seen that the team can be hazardous in attack, but at times lack quality up front. Against Sheffield United, on the other hand, Nottingham looked frighteningly bad defensively in the first half, while Chelsea played very well in the attack and recently also had good performances in defense.