With the return of Premier League action on the horizon, the referee for Chelsea’s away trip to Nottingham Forest has been announced.
We’re finally getting back to club action, and Chelsea’s first challenge after the break is a trip to the City Ground to face a struggling Forest side.
Since Ange Postecoglou’s appointment, Forest haven’t looked great. But Enzo Maresca will be shutting down any complacency he sees among his players. This is an awkward away fixture, and one Chelsea will want to win to keep the pre-break momentum up.
That task could be made more difficult by the man officiating the tie, who Chelsea haven’t enjoyed much success under recently.
Chelsea’s woeful record with Chris Kavanagh last season
Too much importance is often placed on referee appointments, but sometimes a trend emerges that is difficult to dismiss.
Chris Kavanagh oversaw seven Chelsea games last season, the first of which was against Forest right before the October break, but at Stamford Bridge on that occasion. That match would end in a 1-1 draw after goalkeeping heroics from Matz Sels left the Blues frustrated.
Later that month, Chelsea would be booted out of the Carabao Cup by eventual winners Newcastle. After that, it was a 0-0 stalemate at Goodison Park.
Chelsea lost the next two outings in which Kavanagh was in charge, including a 3-0 hammering courtesy of Brighton.
Thankfully, they would buck the trend in the final weeks with 1-0 victories over Everton and Man United, but there’s enough in that sample to say Chelsea don’t tend to play at their best with the Englishman in charge.
Away games under Kavanagh have always been a problem
Chelsea have played eight away ties under Kavanagh during his time as a referee.
The Blues have won three and lost four of those matches, stretching back to 2019.
It’s not to say that there are some dodgy dealings occurring that are to blame for this poor record, but there is something to be said for the officiating style not suiting Chelsea.
Arsenal FC v Chelsea FC - Premier League
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On the plus side, there have been no red cards shown by Kavanagh in the 21 Chelsea games he has officiated, so that’s something.
With Forest’s early-season struggles, Chelsea will be expected to get the job done on Saturday. History may be against them, but form suggests they will get a hard-to-come-by away win under this referee.