Nottm Forest vs Chelsea

Nottm Forest Henderson; Aurier, Worrall, Boly, Renan Lodi; Yates, Freuler, Mangala; Johnson, Awoniyi, Gibbs-White. Substitutes Hennessey, Cook, Williams, ...

"We have to get to a point where we have got a settled group. we have got to get consistency and that's what we are trying to do." Forest 0 Chelsea 1 (Sterling) Pulisic faces up Worrall down the left and opens up his body to whip a right-foot inswinger into the six-yard box. He's as vital to them as Trent Alexander-Arnold is to Liverpool and making do with a winger in there tends to neuter them as attacking forces while leaving the defence vulnerable, with centre-backs shuffling over to try to help and leaving big gaps. He tries to sell Thiago Silva with a shimmy and a stutter but the great centre-back watches the ball and nips it away. "But we are Chelsea and people don't want to hear those reasons or excuses. The Swiss midfielder wriggles through a challenge and then slips the ball to the left of the penalty spot. Chelsea are missing the two players who make them tick – Reece James and Ben Chilwell – while Wesley Fofana and N'Golo Kante continue to recover from the leg injuries that may well have cost France a third World Cup. Mangala wins the ball in midfield and plays it up to Gibbs-White to run through the middle. Forest open in the style of Chelsea by sweeping the ball across the back four before sending Yates forward to play a one-two with Mangala and then knock it up to Freuler. Worrall launches a ball up the right after Pulisic was felled and unsuccessfully appealed for a foul. Kepa is beaten but the ball smashes off the underside of the crossbar and bounces on the Chelsea side of the goalline.

Cesar Azpilicueta returns to the side in place of Reece James for a record-breaking appearance.

The midfield trio also keep their places, with [Denis Zakaria](/en/teams/profile/denis-zakaria) continuing beside [Jorginho](/en/teams/profile/jorginho) and [Mason Mount](/en/teams/profile/mason-mount). [Mateo Kovacic](/en/teams/profile/mateo-kovacic) and [Hakim Ziyech](/en/teams/profile/hakim-ziyech) are both named among the substitutes for the first time since helping their countries reach the World Cup semi-finals, having been rested against Bournemouth. It will be the Spaniard’s 495th game for Chelsea, putting him clear of Petr Cech’s total as our highest overseas appearance maker of all time.

Chelsea will hope to revive their Premier League campaign with a win against 19th-placed Nottingham Forest.

To think of it, Nottingham Forest have managed to collect 7 points in their last 5 games. The Blues have collected just 4 points in the last 5 games. Their form in the last five games is reflective of how badly they have struggled to keep up with the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City, and Newcastle.

Graham Potter's side returned to action following the World Cup with a 2-0 win over Brentford on Tuesday, with Kai Havertz and Mason Mount on target.

Nottingham Forest 1-1 Chelsea Nottingham Forest were dealt a blow when Jesse Lingard came off against Manchester United with a hamstring injury, joining Morgan Gibbs-White on the sidelines. Reece James has been ruled out for up to four weeks after the defender suffered an injury setback against Bournemouth on Tuesday.

Chelsea fell to a draw against Nottingham Forest in the late kick-off on Sunday in the Premier League.

Does not show for the ball enough to be a number nine. Could be dropped for the next game. One of the worst performances of his career. Not the problem today. Taiwo Awoniyi tore him and Kalidou Koulibaly to shreds down the right side. Done well at times but still seems a bit rusty. Added a bit of control and energy to Chelsea's midfield when he came on but wasn't enough to win the game. Does not move the ball well enough in the middle of the park. Afternoon to forget. It arguably could have been a lot worse for Scored by that was all he done in the game. Forest were the better team for large parts of the clash, and may have scored a lot earlier than they did in the game.