Key events
Vitor Pereira: In a pre-match interview with Sky Sports, the Forest manager is asked about his team selection and the potential risks involved in resting so many first-team regulars. “They need to show, to prove in this moment that they are ready to help the team,” he says of the players he has picked. “I truly believe we can do a competitive game and we can fight for the points.”
Unai Emery adopted the same approach with the Aston Villa team he picked to face Tottenham HOtspur yesterday and if he believed his reserve side could be competitive he was quickly disabused of the notion as they stank Villa Park out with an embarrassingly dismal performance that seems to have prompted far more upset among West Ham’s fans than Villa’s.
Today’s match officials
Referee: Anthony Taylor
Referee assistants: Gary Beswick and Adam Nunn
Fourth official: Michael Salisbury
OUR: James Bell
Assistant VAR: And Robathan
Chelsea: Having recently returned from a club-imposed two-match ban for telling reporters how much he’d like to live in Madrid, Enzo Fernandes only went and spent his three days off this week in the Spanish capital watching tennis with his teammates Marc Cucurella and Joao Pedro.
“It says a lot about the group that they go away together,” said McFarlane. “I love that they spend time together. They went to Madrid to watch tennis, I don’t see an issue. It’s a positive sign for the unity of the group.”
On his own role as interim head coach of a team that has lost five consecutive Premier League matches without scoring a goal before his appointment, McFarlane hd this to say: “I’ve been involved at games at Stamford Bridge as assistant and support staff but there might be a different feel leading the team and it will be a great honour in front of the Chelsea fans. Really looking forward to it and hoping we can put in a similar level of performance as we did at Wembley.”
Nottingham Forest: “I will try to think just about the Chelsea game because it’s our Champions League,” said Vitor Pereira when asked about this match being sandwiched between both legs of a Europa League semi-final. “It’s very important for us and we will try to go there to compete with the players. I prefer a fit player without injury problems, than someone that goes inside the pitch with problems, because with problems, we cannot give 100% and in this moment we need to run and fight.”
Jesse Derry: Maybe it’s just his hairstyle but Jesse Derry reminds me of Jamie Tartt, star player of AFC Richmond in the comedy series Ted Lasso. Unlike Jamie, he seems unlikely to take a sabbatical from football so he can appear on a Reality TV Show. If he’s as good and unselfish a player as Tartt in his series three pomp, Chelsea fans are in for a treat.
Pre-match listening: Myself, Barney Ronay and Jonathan Wilson were up with the lark to join Max Rushden and pick over the bones of the weekend action in the latest episode of our Football Weekly podcast. Warning: may contain middle-aged men bickering and one extremely laboured tea analogy.
Those teams: Vitor Pereira has channeled his inner Unai Emery and made eight changes to the side that beat Aston Villa on Thursday night. Morato, Nico Dominguez and Igor Jesus are the only survivors as a host of first team regulars drop to the bench for a rest.
It’s a risky strategy that may prove to have backfired come season’s end, but Pereira clearly feels his players have enough about them to pick up the points they need to avoid relegation in their remaining games, even if they lose today. And let’s face it, given they are playing Chelsea-in-freefall, there’s every chance Forest won’t lose today.
With Pedro Neto and Alejandro both absent from the home squad, Jesse Derry comes into the Chelsea side to make his full senior debut. The 18-year-old winger is the son of Shaun Derry, the former Notts County, Crystal Palace and QPR legend. As expected, Reece James and Levi Colwill are on the Chelsea bench, where they will be rubbing shoulders with Cole Palmer, who is not fully fit.
Chelsea v Nottingham Forest line-ups
Chelsea: Sanchez, Gusto, Chalobah, Tosin, Cucurella, Caicedo, Lavia, Palmer, Derry, Fernandez, Joao Pedro.
Subs: Jorgensen, Acheampong, Colwill, Fofana, James, Hato, Santos, Essugo, Delap.
Nottingham Forest: Sells, Abbott, Morato, Jair Cunha, Netz, Yates, McAtee, Dominguez, Bakwa, Igor Jesus, Awoniyi.
Subs: Ortega, Williams, Anderson, Gibbs-White, Wood, Da Silva Moreira, Lucca, Hutchinson, Milenkovic.
Early team news
Filip Jorgensen, Estavao Willian and Jamie Gittens remain sidelined but Chelsea could welcome Reece James and Levi Colwill back into their matchday squad. Colwill is back from an ACL he suffered in pre-season and has not played since the Club World Cup final. “When someone’s had an injury for that long, you have to be patient,” said Calum McFarlane. “We just need to manage his minutes, not push him too much. We don’t want to risk re‑injuring him, but he looks brilliant and he is in a really good place.”
Forest right-back Ola Aina limped out of Thursday night’s Europa League semi-final against Aston Villa but may return this afternoon. At his pre-match press conference, Vitor Pereira was unable to offer updates on the fitness of Dan Ndoye, Ibrahim Sangare, Jair Cunha and Murillo. Callum Hudson-Odoi, Nicolo Savona, John Victor and Willy Boly are definitely out.
Premier League: Chelsea v Nottingham Forest
Stamford Bridge hosts a high-stakes Bank Holiday clash between two sides suffering different end-of-season anxieties. Chelsea have an imminent FA Cup final to focus on but must win today to end a remarkable five-match Premier League losing streak to keep their already slim hopes of playing Champions League football next season alive.
Dragged back into a relegation battle they hoped they’d escaped, Nottingham Forest currently find themselves between two legs of a Europa League semi-final against Aston Villa. While the lights of Villa Park beckon for Thursday’s second leg, Forest cannot afford to take things easy this afternoon. Kick-off is at 3pm (BST) but we’ll have team news and build-up in the meantime.
