Nottingham Forest will be looking to enhance their chances of Premier League survival when they host Chelsea at the City Ground on Sunday afternoon.
With 16 games in the books, Forest find themselves second from bottom in the table. That said, they remain a solitary point from safety.
As for Chelsea, they sit eighth – 11 points clear of Forest and six points shy of the top four. Will the Blues pile more pressure on Steve Cooper and his players?
Forest returned to Premier League action with a 3-0 defeat to Manchester United on Tuesday, seeing just 34% possession at Old Trafford.
As a result, the Tricky Trees have lost nine of their 16 Premier League games this season – picking up three wins and four draws along the way.
It is also worth noting that Forest have the second-worst defensive record in the division, having conceded 33 goals. That means they average just over two goals against per game.
Cooper’s side enjoyed an upturn in form before the World Cup, losing just one of their five league games before the break. However, Tuesday’s defeat at Man Utd served as a wake-up call.
On the flip side, Chelsea sealed a 2-0 victory over Bournemouth upon their return to Premier League action – racking up 61% possession and 15 shots on Tuesday.
Kai Havertz and Mason Mount grabbed the goals at Stamford Bridge, firing the Blues to their seventh win in 15 Premier League games this season.
It is worth remembering that Chelsea endured a five-game winless run before the World Cup, drawing with Brentford and Man Utd before falling to Brighton, Arsenal and Newcastle.
However, Tuesday’s dominant victory will give Graham Potter’s side plenty of confidence ahead of their trip to Nottingham.
Head-to-head: Chelsea have won each of their last seven meetings with Forest in all competitions, scoring 19 goals while conceding just three.
The two sides last met in the Premier League back in 1999. Since then, Chelsea have claimed five straight cup wins over Forest – keeping four clean sheets in the process.
Team news: Forest’s lengthy injury list contains Omar Richards, Morgan Gibbs-White, Giulian Biancone, Cheikhou Kouyate and Moussa Niakhate.
Chelsea have a number of injury absentees, too, including N’Golo Kante, Wesley Fofana, Ben Chilwell, Armando Broja and Reece James.
Given that Forest find themselves second from bottom with the second-worst defensive record in the league, all the signs point towards an easy away victory on Sunday.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that Chelsea will score over 2.5 goals and keep a clean sheet on their way to crushing Forest.