The New Year’s Day action continues this afternoon with the first Premier league meeting between Nottingham Forest and Chelsea since the turn of the century.
graham potter‘s Blues enjoyed a solid final week of what was quite a difficult calendar year, leaving them ninth in the table and eight points out of the Champions League places and even behind neighbors Fulham. A rampant injury crisis has hit Chelsea particularly hard of late, but at least they ended 2022 with a solid win over Bournemouth as the club charts a long-term path back to the top, with James replaced by César Azpilicueta today.
Forest meanwhile have only lost one of their last five in all competitions but remain nestled in the relegation zone having scored the second fewest goals in the entire Premier League so far this year. They’re boosted here by the returns of Dean Henderson and Morgan Gibbs-White. Follow Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea live below, with expert analysis from Nizaar Kinsella on the city land.
live updates
43 minutes: Chelsea pull a free man off a lofty free kick from Mount in the woods area, but Havertz is unable to escape.
Yates doesn’t clear his lines and Koulibaly’s firing is directed harmlessly straight at Henderson by a disappointed Pulisic.
42 minutes: Yates is certainly ruffling some feathers with a consistently physical approach in midfield.
He is covered by all of Zakaria, who reacts badly after being dragged onto the deck.
The two midfielders clash briefly before tensions cool down and Yates picks up his first yellow card of the night.
40 minutes: Chelsea will hope to double their lead before the break as Renan Lodi deflects Azpilicueta’s hopeful low shot.
Mount, a former Pride Park borrower, is serenaded by chants of “Derby rejection” from the local faithful as he heads to take the resulting corner, which is easily cleared.
37 minutes: Whether they are correct or not, the Forest players and crowd are being fueled by a sense of unfairness at the moment, which is adding further zest and energy to what has been a spirited first half so far.
Cooper’s team get him back in midfield and move quickly forward, only to have Gibbs-White stopped dead in his tracks by a fantastically timed challenge from the evergreen Silva.
Magnificent defense of the Brazilian veteran.
Nicear Kinsella at the City Ground
It’s interesting to see how wide Christian Pulisic and Raheem Sterling are playing here.
They are trying to get the full-backs out of Nottingham Forest so that midfielders Mason Mount and Denis Zakaria can get into the gaps.
34 minutes: Replays show there was actually no contact with a sliding Mount on Johnson, a good call by the referee and his close assistant.
That’s not so great though as Koulibaly falls under Freuler’s challenge and a Chelsea free kick is awarded.
The Forest players and fans are furious with the referees as their team continues to trail with just over 10 minutes to go before half time.
32 minutes: The pace and determination of Wales star Brennan Johnson is a real nuisance for Chelsea and Mount has just brought him down right next to the Forest fans, who are apoplexic yet again without a free kick having been taken. .
“You are not in a position to referee” is his last song addressed to Peter Bankes.
Nicear Kinsella at the City Ground
Chelsea will be defined by their ability to withstand these counterattacks from Nottingham Forest.
It’s not the fastest bottom line, but they’ve handled it well so far.
30 minutes: Forest fans are furious when the referee explodes with Johnson on Silva’s back, trying to reignite that threat on the counter.
Pulisic and Mount had been unable to keep possession at the other end, prompting a lobbed ball forward from Worrall.
Cries of “you don’t know what you’re doing” receive another controversial decision from Peter Bankes.
27 minutes: More hustle and bustle from Forest now, with Boly putting Sterling in trouble near his own box, with the Chelsea goalscorer clumsily bringing down Gibbs-White.
The hosts are free-kicked in a great position but a poor Gibbs-White shot is deflected by Cucurella and referee Bankes blows his whistle. .