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Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest odds and betting statistics
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Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest match preview
Hold the back page! Hold the front page! Hold all the pages in fact! Chelsea Football Club have won a match!
Last weekend, the Blues beat Bournemouth 3-1 at Dean Court, with Conor Gallagher, Benoît Badiashile and João Félix all on target.
Before this, Frank Lampard had lost all six matches since returning as interim manager, with the Blues winless in seven Premier League outings.
As a result, Chelsea remain rooted in the bottom half of the table, set for their lowest finish since 1996.
After this, the Blues’ fixtures are Manchester City (A), Manchester United (A) and Newcastle (H), so this could well be their final opportunity to get a 12th win of the campaign on the board.
In stark contrast to their hosts, Nottingham Forest have it all to play for in their battle against the drop.
Taiwo Awoniyi bagged a quick-fire brace and Morgan Gibbs-White smashed a penalty straight down the middle before Danilo lashed home the winner, teed-up by a majestic Gibbs-White back-heal flick.
That’s now back-to-back home wins for Steve Cooper’s team, who were winless in 11 beforehand.
As a result, the Reds have climbed up to 16th, three points clear of danger, knowing just one more victory would pretty much guarantee survival.
After this, Forest face Arsenal (H) and Crystal Palace (A) and, given that they’ve won just once on the road all season, next Saturday’s home clash with the Gunners could actually be their best hope of that precious win.
Prior to a 1-1 draw at the City Ground on New Year’s Day, Chelsea had won seven successive meetings, while Forest’s most-recent victory at Stamford Bridge came in January 1995; Stan Collymore with a brace.
Can Nottingham Forest cause a big upset, thereby securing safety?
Chelsea team news
Reece James, Kalidou Koulibaly, Marc Cucurella, Mason Mount and now Ben Chilwell are all out injured.
So, as was the case when Chilwell was taken off last weekend, CĂ©sar Azpilicueta could fill-in at left-back, with Trevoh Chalobah keeping his place on the right.
Noni Madueke and Mykhailo Mudryk got the nod out-wide a week ago, chosen over Raheem Sterling, Hakim Ziyech, Christian Pulisic and JoĂŁo FĂ©lix; they certainly have plenty of options!
Sterling scored in the reverse fixture on New Year’s Day, but has only netted once since.
Predicted XI (4-3-3): Arrizabalaga; Chalobah, Thiago Silva, Badiashile, Azpilicueta; Kanté, Gallagher, Fernández; Madueke, Mudryk, Havertz.
Nottingham Forest team news
Steve Cooper too has an overly bloated squad, even with Dean Henderson, Scott McKenna, Giulian Biancone, Neco Williams, Jonjo Shelvey and Chris Wood all unavailable.
Following Monday night’s win, Cooper will probably be hoping to put out an unchanged XI.
Both full-backs, Serge Aurier and Renan Lodi, were both taken off during the win over Southampton, but there is optimism that the pair will be fit to start here.
The front three, Morgan Gibbs-White, Brennan Johnson and Taiwo Awoniyi, have scored 19 Premier League goals between them this season, which is 56% of Forest’s total.
Predicted XI (4-3-3): Navas; Aurier, Felipe, Niakhaté, Lodi; Mangala, Danilo, Yates, Gibbs-White; Johnson, Awoniyi.
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