Chelsea are in a rare situation right now. They go into this afternoon's match with Nottingham Forest fresh off the back of a win against Bournemouth last week.
The last time the Blues went into a match having won the previous one was way back in March when Graham Potter was still in charge at Stamford Bridge. So for interim head coach Frank Lampard, it is imperative he can follow up last weekend's progress with another strong performance today.
However, in Nottingham Forest, it is a completely different challenge to Chelsea. Steve Cooper's men are fighting for their lives in order to avoid the relegation zone. They know that three points at Stamford Bridge could all but ensure their status in the Premier League for next season.
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Lampard faces some big calls regarding what XI he puts out for Chelsea, as he does in every game with the sheer size of Chelsea's squad. The interim boss may be tempted to go similar to what we saw last weekend down on the south coast to try and build some momentum and confidence into his group of players.
That would mean Kepa Arrizabalaga continues in goal. There is a chance Edouard Mendy could come back into the side before the end of the season as he looks to win the No.1 spot back from his teammate. Kepa, though, is set to start against Nottingham Forest.
Lampard may go with a back-four once again considering Chelsea looked much better in attacking situations when using that system last week. Trevoh Chalobah impressed at right-back. He was defensively solid, as we've come to expect, but also showed his quality going forward at the Vitality Stadium – something he will need to do again to try and break down the expected low-block of Forest this afternoon.
Wesley Fofana has been training this week, so he is in contention to come back into the side but Lampard could rest the Frenchman to avoid aggravating any injury. If that is the case, then it's likely Thiago Silva will be the right centre-back, with Benoit Badiashile alongside the Brazilian defender.
Badiashile really impressed last weekend at Bournemouth. He scored a goal which is obviously brilliant but his overall defensive display against an in-form Dominic Solanke was the thing that stood out the most at the Vitality Stadium, where he minimised the striker's threat on the day.
At left-back is where Chelsea have issues. Lampard confirmed an injury to Ben Chilwell on Friday afternoon and informed everyone that the England international will miss this afternoon's game. Marc Cucurella is also sidelined so that means there could be an opportunity presented to Lewis Hall on the left-hand side of defence.
Lampard spoke glowingly of the 18-year-old in his pre-match press conference and hinted the teenager could be in line to feature against Forest. Hall hasn't played for the Chelsea first-team since the draw at Liverpool back in January but injuries mean he could now get another chance.
The midfield-three that started at Bournemouth impressed on the day and given the week-long rest between the games, Lampard could start the same trio against Forest. That means there could be starts for N'Golo Kante, who showed his attacking abilities in the win last weekend, Conor Gallagher, who scored his second goal in five games and the ever-present Enzo Fernandez, who has started every single game since arriving at Chelsea for over £100million in the January transfer window.
The front-three is an interesting one to debate. Noni Madueke really impressed last weekend so he is expected to keep his place in the side today. Mykhailo Mudryk had flashes against Bournemouth but was unable to impact the game as much as he would have liked – and it's a similar situation with Kai Havertz.
Joao Felix came on and scored a fine goal late on, so he must be pushing to start this afternoon. Meanwhile, Raheem Sterling came on and produced an amazing assist to Felix, with the England international going on a solo run before laying the ball off to his teammate. Sterling could be given the nod ahead of Mudryk today but Felix may have to settle for a place on the bench yet again.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Kepa; Chalobah, Silva, Badiashile, Hall; Kante, Fernandez, Gallagher; Madueke, Sterling, Havertz.
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