Nottingham Forest have five games to ensure Premier League football next season.
A 4-1 thrashing of Burnley on Sunday has enhanced the feelings among the fan base that relegation can be averted with five cup finals left to play.
Cards on the table – How are you rating Vitor Pereira for his team’s performances since he arrived at Nottingham Forest?
Forest go to Sunderland on Friday night looking to take advantage of the fact that the Black Cats have very little left to play for in the Premier League this season.
After the trip to the Stadium of Light, Forest face Chelsea, and right now, Liam Rosenior is fighting for his job after another bleak night for the up-and-coming head coach.
Nottingham Forest head coach Vitor Pereira
Photo by Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Chelsea create unwanted history ahead of Forest clash
The Reds will head to Stamford Bridge with a solid record at that particular stadium since returning to the Premier League in 2022.
Furthermore, Chelsea are in rotten form, and after a 3-0 defeat to Brighton on Tuesday night, the pressure has intensified once again on the Blues and Rosenior.
Chelsea’s latest defeat was their fifth in succession, and they’ve failed to score in any of those games, which is their worst run for 114 years.
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It's been 114 years… 😳⬇️
Chelsea have lost five league games in a row without scoring for the first time since 1912 – the year the Titanic sank. pic.twitter.com/ZkWIoisLx5
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) April 21, 2026
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Rosenior has overseen a run that hasn’t been worsened since 1912, when the Titanic sank, and the head coach has it all to do in order to stop Chelsea’s hopes of Champions League football sinking without trace.
Chelsea face Leeds at Wembley on Sunday afternoon for a place in the FA Cup Final, and then he can switch his focus towards a Bank Holiday showdown against Forest.
Forest have to dig deep in the quest to survive relegation
West Ham and Tottenham each have fixtures where they will hope to pick up points in the quest for survival too, and Forest have to be mindful of that.
The five-point gap to Tottenham could be trimmed this weekend, with Spurs taking on Wolves, who are already relegated.
Forest have nothing to fear, however, and having found the way to the goal in recent weeks, the Reds have to head to Sunderland and Chelsea with a firm desire to keep scoring and keep putting points on the board.
Rosenior might already be on borrowed time at Chelsea, and Forest fans will now be hoping that he earns a stay of execution for a few weeks at least until the Reds have visited Stamford Bridge.
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