Chelsea will be looking to scupper Nottingham Forest’s chances of survival at Stamford Bridge this afternoon (3pm kick-off).
Frank Lampard endured the worst possible start on his return to the Chelsea dugout, losing his first six games in charge in all competitions before recording his first win over Bournemouth last weekend. The west London club have little to play for but are still a dangerous opponent for Forest, given the obvious talent within their ranks.
Steve Cooper ’s side will be looking to extend the three-point gap that Forest put between themselves and the bottom three with their victory over Southampton. Ahead of their clash at Stamford Bridge, Frank Lamaprard revealed that he will be without several key players against the Reds.
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England full-back Ben Chilwell was substituted in the win over Bournemouth and will not be available to face Forest. “We’re hoping that Chilly will be the last game or two of the season but that’s a tight call,” Lampard said in his pre-match press conference.
“It’s a similar story with Mason Mount, maybe a little bit similar with Reece (James), I feel like Reece might be slightly behind that so we’re obviously chasing it a bit now.”
Chelsea are expected to welcome back former Leicester City centre-back Wesley Fofana, who returned to training this week, but Lampard is still facing the prospect of playing teenager Lewis Hall at left-back, with Marc Cucurella also sidelined. Kalidou Koulibaly is another injury worry for the Chelsea boss, while striker Armando Broja is a long-term absentee.
“(Koulibaly) trained with us the last couple of days, a little bit managed, not full training, so again, looking at the next week,” Lamprd continued. “So, all of those, hopefully they’ll be in contention, but of course, will they be match fit is another question.”
Full Chelsea squad available to face Forest
Goalkeepers: Kepa Arrizabalaga, Edouard Mendy, Marcus Bettinelli, Gabriel Slonina.
Defenders: Wesley Fofana, Benoit Badiashile, Trevoh Chalobah, Thaigo Silva, Lewis Hall, Cesar Azpilicueta.
Midfielders: Enzo Fernandez, N’Golo Kante, Denis Zakaria, Mateo Kovacic, Conor Gallagher, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Carney Chukwuemeka,
Forwards: Kai Havertz, Mykhaylo Mudryk, Raheem Sterling, Christian Pulisic, Noni Madueke, Hakim Ziyech, David Datro Fofana, Joao Felix, Pierre-Emerkick Aubameyang.
Doubtful: Kalidou Koulibaly
Sidelined: Marc Cucurella, Ben Chilwell, Reece James, Mason Mount, Armando Broja.
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