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Chelsea face Forest on Saturday | Getty Images
A look at how the pundits are predicting Chelsea’s clash with Nottingham Forest.
The Blues went into the break on the back of a huge home win over Liverpool having struggled a little in the Premier League heading into that one. Chelsea have had rotten luck with injuries of late, and they won’t get Cole Palmer back until November, but they will get a few players back here.
As for Forest, they have had a torrid time since controversially sacking Nuno Espirito Santo and replacing him with Ange Postecoglou. They are yet to win since making that change, which wasn’t popular with the Forest fans in the first place. Here we take a look at the pundit predictions for the City Ground clash.
Paul Merson
Merson predicted in his SportsKeeda column: “Chelsea had a great result against Liverpool and I must admit, I didn't see that coming. This is a difficult game though. I know it sounds crazy when I say this after just seven games, but it could be last chance saloon for Ange Postecoglou at Nottingham Forest. If he loses this game, I don't think he will make it to next week!
“The fans will make it obvious that they want him gone if he cannot get a result against Chelsea. Let's not forget that there wasn't a lot between these two teams last season, even though Chelsea finished above Forest in the end.
“Chelsea are crying out for consistency. It was a great win over Liverpool but they must back it up with another three points in this game. There's no point in beating the reigning champions and then failing to win against a struggling Forest. It has been a bit of a stop-start season for Chelsea and they must now put together a run of good wins to take charge in the race for a top four finish.
“The early kick-off after an international break sometimes works as a leveller for the underdogs. And this is a cup final for Postecoglou and his team. So I have a feeling that it could be an advantage for them. Looking at the table, Forest are 17th and it'd be a massive shock if Chelsea cannot beat them on Saturday. But Forest are a decent team on paper, and they have to turn the tide sooner rather than later. so I'm backing them to get a point. Nottingham Forest 1-1 Chelsea.”
Chris Sutton
Predicting better fortunes for Chelsea, Chris Sutton told BBC Sport: “The treatment that Ange Postecoglou is getting from Nottingham Forest fans is just ridiculous. It saddens me, actually, that they are calling for him to be sacked after just seven games - and I don't think it's fair at all.
“I covered Forest's defeat at Newcastle before the international break. That was the result I expected, and Newcastle thoroughly deserved to win too, but it still showed all this talk of how Ange can only play one way is wrong because Forest were not open at all at St James' Park - they tried to contain Newcastle and played on the counter.
“The problem they had was that they could not get up the pitch, but if you were a Forest fan watching that game then you would be thinking that Ange did try and play with a bit of balance. Now they are at home, the onus will be on them to go forward more against Chelsea, whose manager Enzo Maresca has also come under pressure this season.
“Chelsea's late victory over Liverpool last time out was important for Maresca after back-to-back league defeats. In many ways I hope Forest win, to take the heat off Postecoglou a little, but I don't see it happening. Prediction: 1-2.”
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