Chelsea look to go into the international break on a high as they host Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge this afternoon. The Blues picked up their first win of the season at home to Luton in their last Premier League match, before edging past AFC Wimbledon in the Carabao Cup in midweek.
Mauricio Pochettino’s side are yet to really click into gear, but the focus can now fully shift to matters on the pitch with the transfer window closed. Cole Palmer could make his Chelsea debut, while Conor Gallagher is set to start after a possible deadline-day move to Tottenham failed to come off.
Forest gave Manchester United a huge scare last weekend when taking a two-goal lead inside the first four minutes, before ultimately falling to defeat at Old Trafford. Their displays against United and Arsenal already this season will give them confident of causing Chelsea real problems this afternoon. Follow all the action with Standard Sport’s LIVE blog below, featuring expert analysis from Nizaar Kinsella at the ground.
Live updates
Standard Sport prediction
Forest are once again set for a relegation scrap and should be put away convincingly by Chelsea – on paper, anyway.
In reality, this will be a tighter affair with the visitors set to get their moments on the counter. However, you’d still back Chelsea to edge it and secure the win.
Chelsea to win, 2-1.
Nottingham Forest team news
Joe Worrall is back from his ban for Nottingham Forest, who hope to add a couple of new signings to their squad in time to make their debuts.
Wayne Hennessey, Scott McKenna and Orel Mangala are absent with Danilo a doubt after suffering a hamstring issue. Felipe could return.
Callum Hudson-Odoi was not registered to face his old club and neither were fellow deadline day arrivals Nicolas Dominguez or Odysseas Vlachodimos.
Chelsea team news
Chelsea could today welcome back Mykhailo Mudryk from injury, while Cole Palmer is pushing for a debut.
Palmer is ready to make his first appearance for Chelsea but it will likely come from the bench as Mauricio Pochettino urged caution with the £40million signing from Manchester City.
Mudryk missed the last two matches with a tight muscle but is in contention to play. Otherwise, Pochettino has a sizeable lift of nine players out the 3pm kick-off.
Christopher Nkunku, Reece James, Armando Broja, Benoit Badiashile, Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Carney Chukwuemeka, Romeo Lavia and Marcus Bettinelli have all been ruled out.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Sanchez; Disasi, Colwill, Silva; Gusto, Fernandez, Caicedo, Gallagher, Chilwell; Sterling, Jackson
How to watch Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest
TV channel and live stream: In the UK, the game will not be televised live due to the 3pm Saturday blackout for football games.
Live blog: You can still follow all the action right here with us, featuring expert analysis from Nizaar Kinsella at the ground.
Good afternoon!
Hello and welcome to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest!
It’s the final match for these sides before the international break, with Chelsea looking to make it three wins on the bounce across all competitions.
We’ll have all the latest updates, build-up and team news ahead of kick-off, which comes at 3pm BST from Stamford Bridge. Stay with us!
