Chelsea v Nottingham Forest: Prediction, team news, line-ups and odds
They’ve gone through plenty of candidates but Forest now seem to have landed on the ideal boss in Vitor Pereira. It was a sticky start for the Portuguese but he’s guided his team to an unbeaten nine-match run in all competitions, six of those wins.
And what a fortnight it’s been. Forest have crushed Burnley (4-1 at home) and Sunderland (5-0 away!) to ease their relegation fears while they’ve beaten Porto to reach the Europa League semi-finals where they’ve secured a lead over Aston Villa after a 1-0 success at the City Ground on Thursday night.
Chelsea’s disastrous run of seven defeats out of eight saw the end of Liam Rosenior’s brief spell in charge but his exit prompted an immediate upturn in fortunes (and effort?) as they beat Leeds at Wembley to set up an FA Cup final showdown with Manchester City.
Chelsea v Nottingham Forest kick-off time
Chelsea v Nottingham Forest kicks off at 3pm BST on Monday, May 4 at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea v Nottingham Forest how to watch
The game will be shown live in the UK on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event. Coverage begins at 2pm.
Chelsea team news
After returning to team training, skipper Reece James (hamstring) and centre-back Levi Colwill (knee) could be part of the Chelsea squad again.
Nottingham Forest team news
Murillo, Jair Cunha, Dan Ndoye and Ibrahim Sangare all missed the Europa League first leg win over Aston Villa and will need to be assessed nearer kick-off.
Callum Hudson-Odoi has already been ruled out for the rest of the campaign.
Chelsea v Nottingham Forest odds
Chelsea are 4/6 to record their first Premier League win since March 4. They’ve lost five top-flight games on the spin since then.
Forest are 4/1 to extend the hosts’ losing streak in the league to six while The Draw is 3/1.
Chelsea are 20/1 to produce a late rally and grab a top five finish while it’s also 20/1 that Forest suffer relegation.
Chelsea v Nottingham Forest prediction
Chelsea would be far from the first football team in history to suddenly come to life again after a manager they weren’t having was sent on his way.
It’s perhaps a cynical take but one with merit after they clearly raised their levels to win last weekend’s FA Cup semi-final with in-form Leeds.
This is their first Premier League game since Liam Rosenoir’s departure but let’s not forget that the Blues have struggled at Stamford Bridge all season. Their tally of six home wins is only one more than fourth-bottom West Ham have managed.
Forest definitely have an eye on the Europa League second leg but they can’t quite count their chickens yet when it comes to avoiding the drop.
Encouragingly for Pereira’s men, Stamford Bridge has been a happy hunting ground. They’ve lost just two of their eight Premier League away games against Chelsea and from their last three visits, Forest have managed a win and two draws.
Therefore, head to the Double Chance market and back Forest-Draw at 5/4. It makes sense to have both results running for us given that their six-match unbeaten run in the Premier League comprises an equal split of three wins and three draws.
