Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest

Stamford Bridge is the venue as Chelsea and Nottingham Forest lock horns in a bottom-half Premier League clash.

Chelsea’s worst Premier League season in the 21st century saw a glimmer of light last weekend as interim boss Frank Lampard posted his first win in charge of the ‘Blues’ after six straight losses courtesy of a 3-1 triumph at Bournemouth. Another promoted side will challenge the Londoners’ bid to avoid the first bottom-half finish since 1995/96 this weekend. Luckily for the hosts, the H2H stakes at the Bridge look promising, as they’ve won their last six home meetings with Forest, netting at least two goals on each occasion. That should inspire Chelsea’s effort to end the club’s longest winless home run in the Premier League since 1995 (D2, L3) and avoid losing three consecutive home matches in the competition for only the second time in history.

On the other hand, Nottingham Forest eked out a goal-glutted 4-3 home win over basement boys Southampton earlier this week to steer three points away from the relegation zone. However, Steve Cooper’s men cannot catch a break on the road this season. They’ve won a league-low six points away from home in 2022/23, picking up just one win on 17 Premier League travels to date (D3, L13). Moreover, a lack of firepower has seen Forest score only eight goals on hostile turf this season as they face the risk of completing the season as the only side to fail to hit double digits. That’s the least of the visitors’ problems, considering they’ve lost their last seven top-flight games outside the City Ground, accounting for their worst such streak since losing nine on the spin in 1962.