Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea Prediction

Form heading into this one

Forest's recent home matches have been tight. They drew at Ipswich, lost narrowly to Arsenal, and lost by two at Crystal Palace, so goals have been hard to come by at either end.

Nottingham Forest: 20 completed matches; Chelsea: 20 completed matches.

Nottingham Forest

20 matches

Win

30% 6 / 20

Draw

25% 5 / 20

Loss

45% 9 / 20

Scored

20

Conceded

24

Difference

-4

Chelsea

20 matches

Win

55% 11 / 20

Draw

15% 3 / 20

Loss

30% 6 / 20

Scored

47

Conceded

33

Difference

+14

Chelsea's away form has been more up and down. They beat Everton 2-0, but then lost 0-2 at home to Tottenham in their most recent league game. Earlier in the season they also lost away at Brentford and Arsenal, so the away record isn't as strong as their league position suggests.

Comparative Team Statistics: Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea

Head-to-head record

Chelsea have won the majority of recent meetings between these two, including a 3-0 win at Forest back in October 2025. Older results also lean Chelsea's way, with a couple of FA Cup and League Cup wins in the mix too.

The most recent meeting bucks that trend, though. Forest won 3-1 away at Chelsea in May 2026, their last head-to-head before this one. That result is recent enough to matter, even if it doesn't overturn the broader history.

Where they sit in the table

Chelsea are fourth with 13 points from seven games, having won four, drawn one and lost two. Forest are down in 18th with just five points from the same number of matches, winning only once.

The goal difference tells a similar story. Chelsea have scored 17 and conceded 13, while Forest have scored only five and conceded nine. That's a big gap in output for two teams meeting on the same weekend.

Chelsea arrive with a clear league advantage on paper.

Players to watch

João Pedro has been Chelsea's standout attacker, with three goals and three assists in just four matches. Rogers has also chipped in with three goals, and Palmer is contributing goals and assists regularly.

Nottingham Forest:

Best assist providers:

M. Gibbs-White - 2

Penalty cards:

J. McAtee x 2

Chelsea:

Best scorers:

João Pedro - 3

M. Rogers - 3

C. Palmer - 2

Best assist providers:

João Pedro - 3

C. Palmer - 2

J. Hato - 2

For Forest, Gibbs-White has two assists in five matches, showing he's still creating chances even while results have been poor. McAtee has picked up two yellow cards in five games, which is worth keeping in mind given Forest's need to stay compact.