Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest preview, team news, tickets & prediction

Chelsea welcome Nottingham Forest for a 2024/25 Premier League fixture that is set to make for an intriguing watch. Here is a preview.

Nottingham Forest will travel to London to upset Chelsea whom they have had some epic encounters since their return to the top flight.  

When they last met at the tail-end of 2023/34, Chelsea continued their late-season push for European football with two quickfire goals to secure a late 3-2 turnaround win at Nottingham Forest, whose safety was all-but secured before kick-off.

The reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge earlier in the season saw Anthony Elanga grab the role of match-winner as Forest stunned the Blues. 

For Chelsea, the aim is to improve on their strong finish to the last campaign with a settled squad going into what should be a crucial season for the Blues. 

Despite steadying the ship somewhat as his team built some chemistry in this calendar year, Mauricio Pochettino left the club on mutual terms with one of the main reasons suggested for his departure being disagreements over plans for the summer transfer window.

Leicester City’s Enzo Maresca was appointed for his innovative coaching and suitability to work within a modern structure which requires improving with the talented young players at his disposal. 

Chelsea are already building the foundations of their new manager’s expansive style of play on the squad, and several key signings are needed to take them to the next level under Todd Boehly & Clearlake Capital’s ownership.

The Stamford Bridge outfit are hoping for better fortunes on the injury front which hindered their progress at times last season, and their work in pre-season has so far been casualty-free.

There is positivity spreading for a new season with a clean slate for everybody, and Maresca will lead his charges in Premier League action for the first time against former club Manchester City. 

They must maintain a strong home record throughout the season, which makes this match-up against Forest a must-win. 

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side will be hoping to snatch a decent result at Chelsea and the last two seasons have certainly been good learning curves for Forest.

As they stared down the barrel of relegation after their first Premier League season in 23 years, 

Forest collected 11 points from their final six games. That experience toughened them for their second campaign as a poor start led to Steve Cooper’s sacking by December 2023, Nuno was appointed in his place but there was further turmoil for the Portuguese manager to manage.

Nottingham Forest were charged with breaching Premier League profit and sustainability rules for their accounts in the 2022/23 season. Four points were deducted to push them into the relegation places, with their appeal against the penalty also rejected.

Nevertheless, they finished 17th and beat the drop by six points, hoping to kick on and establish themselves further up the table this term. 

Fresh from the memories of their smash-and-grab victory at the same venue a year ago, Forest will be looking to pounce on any slack Chelsea errors at the back. 

Match tickets

This Premier League fixture takes place on Saturday, 5 October 2024 with kick-off scheduled for 3 PM UK time. Match tickets are available for sale on each club’s website but note that season ticket holders and club members will be given priority consideration. 

Chelsea’s home ground will be sold out for this game given it is early in the season and there is cause for optimism with several key additions. It will be complicated to buy match tickets from official sources so we urge supporters to check for Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest tickets on a resale site. 

Team news

Premier League Young Player of the Year Cole Palmer is the crown jewel of Chelsea’s attack and he will hope to have a stronger, injury-free unit around him in this coming season. 

Par for the course, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Caleb Wiley, Omari Kellyman, Marc Guiu, Tosin Adarabioyo and Renato Veiga have all joined this summer with Estevao Willian to follow in 2025. There have also been six departures so far with the likes of Kepa Arrizabalaga, Romelu Lukaku and Conor Gallagher also expected to leave. 

All of Chelsea’s key players who missed the majority of last season – Reece James, Romeo Lavia, Christopher Nkunku and Wesley Fofana – have stayed fit so far in preseason and could make a massive difference to the side should that remain the case through most of 2024/25. 

For Nottingham Forest, their recent transfer business has been characterized by a new recruitment model that sees them focus on signing talented but energetic players. Carlos Miguel, Marko Stamenic, Eric da Silva Moreira, Elliot Anderson and Nikola Milenkovic have thus joined this summer. 

Indeed, they are set to remain busy as they also want Gremio youngster Gustavo Nunes and are reportedly interested in signing the out-of-contract Kelechi Iheanacho. Third-choice goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos has been sold to Newcastle but more departures are expected before the transfer window closes.  

Line-ups

How and who Chelsea set up with in midfield remains to be seen, but it should nevertheless be an interesting time for the Blues. Nkunku looks to be a crucial presence this season as his goalscoring prowess would considerably ease the burden on Nicolas Jackson. 

Chelsea: Sanchez; James, Tosin, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez, Dewsbury-Hall; Palmer, Nkunku, Mudryk

Forest is expected to be compact and set up for counterattacks in this tough away fixture. While their attacks must be well-constructed, it is also essential that they are prepared to make use of the ball effectively when under pressure. 

Nottingham Forest: Sels; Montiel, Omobamidele, Murillo, Aina; Dominguez, Yates; Hudson-Odoi, Gibbs-White, Elanga; Awoniyi

Prediction

Although Chelsea had enjoyed past meetings with the Garibaldi, both sides have one win and two draws each from their four meetings over the last two seasons. 

This makes Forest a plucky prospect for the Blues who will hope Maresca’s ideas are ingrained in the team to avoid a potential slip-up. 

Chelsea 2-1 Nottingham Forest

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This post was written by meg