Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest: EPL Match Preview, Predicted Line-ups and Fantasy XI

Two Premier League teams seeking to claim back-to-back victories do battle at Stamford Bridge on Saturday during Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest.

Match Details:

• Location: London, England
• Stadium: Stamford Bridge
• Date: Saturday 13 May
• Kick-off Time: 15:00 BST / 10:00 ET / 07:00 PT
• Referee: Paul Tierney
• VAR: Stuart Attwell

Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest: Match Preview

Chelsea finally clinched the first win in Frank Lampard's second stint as the head coach. The Blues were dreadful in their first six outings under the Englishman, losing each game. But they finally ended their poor run last weekend by beating Bournemouth 3-1 at the Vitality Stadium.

And Lampard will hope to see his team ending in the top half before clearing the way for Mauricio Pochettino.

On the other hand, Nottingham Forest might be turning the corner at the right time. The Tricky Trees looked dead and buried at one point, with Steve Cooper reportedly facing the axe.

But two wins in the last three games have helped them climb up to 16th in the standings, beating Southampton 4-3 in the relegation six-pointer on Monday. However, they are not out of the woods yet, with 18th-placed Leicester City only three points behind.

Watch Frank Lampard look ahead to #CheNfo! https://t.co/n7hEtq9XPY

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) May 12, 2023

The reverse fixture saw Nottingham Forest come from a goal down to hold Chelsea to a 1-1 draw, with Serge Aurier scoring the equaliser.

Team News:

Chelsea:

Lampard has quite the injury list to deal with entering his final four games in charge of Chelsea.

Reece James, Mason Mount and Armando Broja are out for the season, while it is unlikely that Ben Chilwell will play again this term.

Back at it tomorrow! 🤝 pic.twitter.com/reVdZcVvqP

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) May 12, 2023

Kalidou Koulibaly too is facing a race against time to return this campaign, though Marc Cucurella and Wesley Fofana are on the cusp of comebacks.

Nottingham Forest:

Cooper's list of injuries is somehow more extensive than that of Lampard's.

Neco Williams Giulian Biancone, Dean Henderson, Scott McKenna, Chris Wood and Omar Richards have all been ruled out for the season.

Straight onto the next one. pic.twitter.com/FjqX8ujN0N

— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) May 10, 2023

Jonjo Shelvey, Jack Colback and Gustavo Scarpa could make their returns before the end of the campaign.

Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest: Head to Head:

In four head-to-head encounters between the two sides, Chelsea have won three games and drawn one.

German attacker Kai Havertz has eight goal contributions in 27 league starts for Chelsea this season.

Attacker Raheem Sterling has seven goal contributions in 20 league starts for Chelsea this season.

Portuguese forward Joao Felix has scored three goals in 10 league starts for Chelsea so far.

Wales international Brennan Johnson has 11 goal contributions in 32 league starts for Nottingham Forest so far.

Predicted Line-ups:

Chelsea predicted lineup (4-3-3): Kepa; Chalobah, Silva, Badiashile, Azpilicueta; Fernandez, Kante, Gallagher; Madueke, Havertz, Mudryk

Nottingham Forest predicted lineup (4-3-3): Navas; Aurier, Felipe, Niakhate, Lodi; Mangala, Yates, Danilo; Johnson, Awoniyi, Gibbs-White

CHE vs NTF: Fantasy XI

Navas; Aurier, Silva, Badiashile, Fernandez, Kante,Danilo; Johnson, Awoniyi, Madueke, Havertz