Chelsea travel to The City Ground to face Nottingham Forest on Saturday looking to pick up where they left off before the international break, and pundit Paul Merson has made his prediction for the clash.
The Blues’ win over Liverpool was arguably their best result of the season so far, and they’ll be hoping it sparks a run of form with consistency the main thing that’s eluded Enzo Maresca’s side so far.
Chelsea are seventh in the table heading into the weekend, five points off top spot and three points off the top four.
Injury situation easing ahead of Forest trip
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Maresca was without eight players against Liverpool, but the squad is expected to be in much better shape for Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off. Trevoh Chalobah is back from suspension, and Wesley Fofana and Tosin Adarabioyo are both believed to be available again after recent issues.
Enzo Fernandez returned early from international duty and is likely to be fit, although it’s still not clear if Andrey Santos will make it.
Cole Palmer will miss out again, and the latest suggests he could be sidelined for the next four games with the groin problem he’s been carrying since the Club World Cup.
Paul Merson makes Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea prediction
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Forest are still without a win under Ange Postecoglou and sit 17th in the Premier League, but Merson is expecting them to put in a strong showing and get something from the game.
“Chelsea had a great result against Liverpool and I must admit, I didn’t see that coming. This is a difficult game though,” he told Sportskeeda. “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.
“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.
“Prediction: Nottingham Forest 1-1 Chelsea.”