Chelsea have now surpassed the 40-point mark, ending any fears of being dragged into a relegation battle, but they still have plenty of work to do if they wish to avoid their first bottom-half finish in the top flight since 1995-96. Indeed, the Blues sit 11th in the Premier League table and six points behind 10th-placed Fulham with a game in hand.
Lampard and co enter Saturday’s contest having failed to win any of their last six games at Stamford Bridge. In the Premier League, only five teams have picked up fewer points at home than Chelsea (23) so far this season, while only basement club Southampton (17) have scored fewer goals than the Blues (18) in front of their own fans. Chelsea have won each of their last six home matches against Nottingham Forest, though, albeit five of those in cup competitions, and they have scored at least two goals on each occasion which bodes well for the Blues this weekend.
Nottingham Forest fans must have been fearing the worst when their side endured a torrid 11-game winless run between February 11 and April 22, but Steve Cooper’s men have since won two of their last three Premier League matches to restore hope of avoiding an immediate demotion to the second tier.
Chelsea left-back Ben Chilwell picked up a hamstring injury in the win over Bournemouth and now joins injured quintet Reece James, Marc Cucurella, Kalidou Koulibaly, Mason Mount and Armando Broja on the sidelines, while Wesley Fofana, who missed the win over the Cherries, is doubtful with a hamstring issue. Cesar Azpilicueta is expected to start at left-back in the absence of both Chilwell and Cucurella, with Lampard set to stick with a back four including Badiashile, Thiago Silva and Trevoh Chalobah.
Mateo Kovacic could return to centre-midfield at the expense of either Gallagher or N’Golo Kante, while Felix, Sterling, Hakim Ziyech and Christian Pulisic will all be pushing to start on the flanks ahead of either Mykhaylo Mudryk or Noni Madueke, who both started against Bournemouth.
As for Nottingham Forest, Cooper has revealed that Aurier is “touch and go” due to fitness issues and Renan Lodi (knock) is also a doubt, while Dean Henderson, Chris Wood, Scott McKenna, Giulian Biancone, Omar Richards, Neco Williams, Jonjo Shelvey, Jack Colback and Emmanuel Dennis all remain in the treatment room. Gustavo Scarpa is also sidelined but he has resumed full training and is closing in on a return.
