Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea LIVE: Nuno’s men can seal Premier League safety with victory over Europe-chasing Blues – kick-off time, team news and how to follow
Nottingham Forest welcome Chelsea to The City Ground this afternoon, knowing they can seal their Premier League safety.
If Nuno Espirito Santo's side win and Luton fail to beat West Ham, the Tricky Trees' place in the top-flight will be confirmed for another year.
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This comes after the Premier League's Independent commission confirmed Forest would remain with four points deducted after they rejected the club's appeal against their punishment for breaking financial rules.
Meanwhile, Chelsea are targeting a place in the Europa League.
The Blues are locked in a battle with Newcastle and Manchester United for sixth, and should the Toon slip up against Brighton, Mauricio Pochettino's side could leapfrog them with a win.
Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea: Relegation battle
Forest's 3-1 victory over Sheffield United last weekend was a huge result in the context of the relegation battle.
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It puts them in control of their own destiny, while it also means anything other than a Burnley win and Forest defeat would relegate the Clarets ahead of their final-day showdown at Turf Moor.
But should Burnley win and Forest lose, that would make the final day very interesting and incredibly nervous for anyone connected with the Tricky Trees.
They would have to play Burnley away from home in a winner-takes-all scenario.
Of course, they will hope Spurs beat Burnley to make sure that's not a possibility, but if the Clarets do win, Nuno's side could still relegate Burnley with a win over Chelsea.
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So, it's still all to play for at the bottom of the table, but Forest appear to be doing just enough.
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- Following their 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge in September, Nottingham Forest are looking to complete their first league double over Chelsea since 1978-79, when they were reigning top-flight champions under Brian Clough.
- Chelsea have won just two of their last 10 away league games against Nottingham Forest (D4 L4), winning 1-0 in November 1994 and 3-1 in February 1999.
- Nottingham Forest have only lost their final home league match in one of their six previous Premier League campaigns (W4 D1), doing so against Sheffield United in 1992-93 with a 2-0 defeat that confirmed their relegation.
Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea: Teams
Nottingham Forest: Sels, Montiel, Boly, Murillo, Niakhate, Aina, Yates, Danilo, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi, Wood
Subs: Turner, Sangare, Kouyate, Awoniyi, Toffolo, Dominguez, Elanga, Origi, Omobamidele
Chelsea: Petrovic, Chalobah, Thiago Silva, Cucurella, Caicedo, Gallagher, Madueke, Palmer, Mudryk, Jackson
Subs: Bettinelli, Colwill, Disasi, Gusto, James, Ugochukwu, Casadei, Sterling, Nkunku
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- Following their 3-1 win at Sheffield United last time out, Nottingham Forest are looking to win consecutive Premier League games for the third time since their promotion in 2022 (previously January 2023 v Southampton and Leicester and December 2023 v Newcastle and Man Utd).
- Though they’ve lost just one of their last 12 Premier League games (W6 D5), Chelsea are winless in their last five away from home (D4 L1). Indeed, the Blues have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their last 14 Premier League away games, since a 2-0 win at Fulham in October.
- Chelsea’s Premier League games have seen 129 goals this season (F70 A59), the third most after Sheffield United (135) and Newcastle (134). Indeed, only in 2009-10 (135) have Chelsea’s games produced more goals (F103 A32).
Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea: What has been said?
Forest manager Nuno wants his players to be fully focused on the task at hand.
He said: “We have to focus on ourselves, this is the main message that is being said. This is what we want, let’s just focus on ourselves and play a good game.
“Today, we prepared for the game here at the City Ground. We are ready to go.
“It is our last game at home, it is important for our main goal and for our fans that we finish in a nice way at the City Ground because they have been so helpful.
“Their support is so important for us. Now is the moment to try to give back all that they have given to us."
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- Including penalties, Nottingham Forest have both scored the fewest (7) and conceded the most (27) set piece goals in the Premier League this season.
- Chris Wood has scored more goals than any other Nottingham Forest player in the Premier League this season (12). However, no side has he faced more often without ever scoring in the competition than Chelsea (11).
- Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson has been involved in six goals in his last five Premier League games (4 goals, 2 assists), as many as in his previous 16 appearances (3 goals, 3 assists).
- Cole Palmer has been involved in 30 Premier League goals this season, scoring 21 and assisting nine. The last Chelsea player to be involved in more was Eden Hazard in 2018-19 (31 – 16G 15A), while 2009-10 was the last time a Blues player scored more in a league campaign (Didier Drogba 29, Frank Lampard 22).
Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea: Date and how to follow
This Premier League clash is set to take place on Saturday, May 11.
Kick-off at the City Ground is scheduled for 5:30pm.
The game will be broadcast on Sky Sports Main Event and Premier League.
Sky Go customers will be able to stream the action on their laptops and mobile devices.
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Alternatively, supporters can purchase a one-day NOW TV pass for £11.98.
talkSPORT will have updates from Nottingham and marvelbet369.com will have all the reaction.
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