Chelsea v Nottm Forest | Match Preview, Odds and Prediction
Chelsea welcome Nottingham Forest to Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon and are big favourites to pick up all three points. The Blues are coming off the back of a convincing home win in their last Premier League clash while Forest suffered defeat in their previous outing, so Chelsea are 2/5 with Betfair To Win.
Chelsea have had a decent start to the new campaign, drawing 1-1 at home to Liverpool, losing 3-1 away to West Ham United and winning 3-0 at home to Luton Town. They’ve been solid at Stamford Bridge, picking up four points from a possible six so far, so they’re much improved from last season and right to be favourites with bookmakers.
Only four clubs played out more stalemates than Forest (11) and Chelsea (11) in the league last season, so the Blues and the Reds are 17/4 with SkyBet To Draw. The two sides drew both Premier League meetings last season too. Chelsea has scored 1.6 goals per game in the league this campaign while Forest has conceded two goals on average, so Total Home Goals Over 1.5 is 4/9 with Unibet.
Forest shouldn’t be underestimated, however, with at least one goal scored in every game this season despite suffering two defeats. The Reds lost 2-1 away to Arsenal, won 2-1 at home to Sheffield United and lost 3-2 away to Manchester United. They’ve averaged 1.6 goals per game like Chelsea, so Both Teams To Score is 10/11 with Bet 365 and Total Goals Over 2.5 is 13/20 with Unibet. Both Teams Not To Score is 1/1 with Sky Bet.
Chelsea are favourites to win against Forest but dropped points to the Reds in both games, drawing 1-1 at the City Ground in January and 2-2 at the Bridge in May. They haven’t lost to Forest since 1997, however, so Chelsea has long been a bogey team. Despite the odds being firmly against them, Forest is 8/1 with Unibet To Win.
Chelsea struggled for goals last season but are firing on all cylinders now. Raheem Sterling has two goals in four games and looks back to his best after struggling in 2022/23. The 28-year-old is 5/1 with Bet 365 to be the First Goalscorer and is 13/8 with Bet 365 to Score Anytime. Nicolas Jackson, who has one goal to his name after joining over the summer, is 18/5 with Betfred to be the First Goalscorer and 23/20 with William Hill to Score Anytime.
Forest have threats of their own, however, with Taiwo Awoniyi coming off the back of scoring 10 league goals last season while bagging three league goals already this campaign. The 26-year-old is 11/1 with Boyle Sports to be the First Goalscorer and 10/3 with Betfair to Score Anytime. Morgan Gibbs-White is next, coming off the back of 13 goals and assists from 35 league games last season. The 23-year-old tops Forest’s charts for most shots per game (1.7) this campaign too, so he’s 20/1 with Boyle Sports to be the First Goalscorer and 13/2 with Unibet to Score Anytime.
Prediction: Chelsea 2-1 Nottingham Forest
