Premier League football graces our screens again at 12.30pm on Saturday afternoon, when Nottingham Forest and Chelsea resume the domestic campaign at the City Ground.
The Tricky Trees are still yet to achieve success under the pressurised Ange Postecoglou, whereas the Blues are searching for a fourth win from five games across all tournaments.
Match preview
Both the red half and the blue half of London were celebrating Chelsea's feats at Stamford Bridge just before international football intervened, as Enzo Maresca's Blues prolonged Liverpool's losing streak to ensure Arsenal would head into the hiatus in first place.
A Moises Caicedo stunner and last-gasp strike from Estevao - now the youngest Brazilian to score a winning goal in the Premier League - cancelled out Cody Gakpo's leveller in a merited 2-1 triumph for the Blues, who snapped a three-game winless sequence in the top flight by taking down the champions.
By virtue of a third win from seven Premier League outings in 2025-26, the injury and suspension-hit visitors are within touching distance of the Champions League places again, currently ranked seventh in thetop-flight standingsand three points below fourth-placed Bournemouth.
The overall picture is slightly prettier for those of a Chelsea persuasion - three victories from four games in all tournaments - but the less said about the Club World Cup winners' recent feats on the road, the better.
Indeed, Maresca's men have only managed three wins from their last 14 Premier League away games and have won just 27% of their points in 2025 on their travels - no ever-present Premier League side has claimed a lower portion of points on rival territory in the current calendar year.
Nottingham Forest manager Ange Postecoglou pictured on October 5, 2025
Chelsea may only have 12 points to boast from all Premier League away games in 2025, but that is still 11 more points than Postecoglou has taken since being sworn in as Nottingham Forest's new manager.
Last season's Europa League-winning mastermind is already facing calls for the axe from his own fans as the Garibaldi's grim plight continues; Saturday's hosts have now lost three on the bounce in all tournaments after succumbing to Newcastle United's superiority.
Bruno Guimaraes and hotshot Nick Woltemade propelled the Magpies to a2-0 triumph over Nottingham Forestlast time out, a result that left Postecoglou's 17th-placed charges just one point above the relegation zone and without a top-flight win since the opening gameweek.
Talk of potential replacements for Postecoglou has already started - ex-Everton boss Sean Dyche is alleged to be in the frame - but the Australian remains in the hotseat for now as he attempts to engineer Forest's first win under his management at the eighth attempt.
On the other hand, the hosts could fail to score in three straight Premier League games for the first time since 1999, as well as potentially losing three successive home league matches to Chelsea for the first time ever - another unwanted blot on the Postecoglou notebook.
Nottingham Forest Premier League form:
D
L
L
D
L
L
Nottingham Forest form (all competitions):
L
D
D
L
L
L
Chelsea Premier League form:
W
W
D
L
L
W
Chelsea form (all competitions):
L
L
W
L
W
W
Team News
Chelsea's Enzo Fernandez celebrates scoring on August 30, 2025
Once again, Chelsea did not get through their beating of Liverpool without the red card being brandished, although it was Maresca who was dismissed for his unbridled last-minute celebrations as opposed to one of his players.
Having been slapped with a one-game ban, Maresca will not be on the touchline for Saturday's game, where the ravaged visitors will also be missing Liam Delap (hamstring), Levi Colwill (ACL), Dario Essugo (thigh) and Mykhaylo Mudryk (doping ban).
The quartet may be the only guaranteed absentees for Saturday, but Chelsea are still sweating on Enzo Fernandez (knee) Cole Palmer (groin), Andrey Santos (knock), Reece James (knock), Wesley Fofana (concussion) and Tosin Adarabioyo (calf) for the lunchtime kickoff.
In some much-needed brighter news, Trevoh Chalobah is back from suspension, while Benoit Badiashile and Josh Acheampong's withdrawals against Liverpool were only precautionary.
Forest are not so unfortunate on the injury front - only ex-Blues defender Ola Aina (hamstring) is definitely sidelined - but Oleksandr Zinchenko (groin) and Douglas Luiz (hamstring) are on the touch-and-go list.
Postecoglou shifted to a three-man defence at St James' Park after Murillo suffered a knock in the Europa League loss to FC Midtjylland, but the Brazilian should be given the all-clear to return to the XI here.
As a result, the hosting manager should revert to a four-man backline, likely to the benefit of former Chelsea academy sensation Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Sels; Savona, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams; Anderson, Dominguez; Ndoye, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Jesus
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella; Lavia, Caicedo; Estevao, Buonanotte, Neto; Pedro
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We say: Nottingham Forest 1-2 Chelsea
The international break came at an ideal time for Forest and an inopportune time for Chelsea, whose surfeit of fitness doubts makes this one of the trickier pre-game predictions.
However, the Blues have scored 50% of their Premier League away goals from corners this season, and given Forest's well-documented struggles defending dead balls under Postecoglou, that could very well prove to be the difference.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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