The new year is upon us and for Chelsea it is such a significant one.
Last year was a whirlwind – to say the least – for the club, who were sold after Roman Abramovich decided to put the club up for sale before restrictions were placed on the club after the Russian was sanctioned by the UK Government back in March. There were countless interested parties in purchasing Chelsea, but Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital eventually completed their takeover of the west London club for £4.25billion.
Then, under the ownership of Boehly, Chelsea had a fairly chaotic summer transfer window, where they spent almost £300m on new recruits. Thomas Tuchel thought he had a new squad for the season as he looked to get his Chelsea side back to competing at the top of the Premier League.
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However, in September, Chelsea confirmed the sacking of Tuchel and replaced him with Graham Potter shortly after. Potter left his role as Brighton head coach to take the same position at Stamford Bridge – where he is being backed to lead the long-term project the new owners have in mind.
It's been a mixed start to life in the Chelsea dugout for Potter, but there are signs of his ideas already coming across to the players. The 47-year-old knows, though, that 2023 will have to be a lot better for the Blues from a footballing perspective if he is to achieve his and the owners' goals.
The new year starts with a trip to Nottingham to take on a Forest side sitting second-bottom in the Premier League table. After beating Bournemouth 2-0 on Tuesday, Chelsea should go into the match with a renewed confidence.
In the first-half of the clash with the Cherries, Chelsea were very impressive. The 4-3-3 formation Potter deployed was really working and there was some really exciting and dangerous attacking play from the hosts at Stamford Bridge.
But what side will Potter play against Forest? Will he go similar in terms of the 4-3-3 formation, or will he revert back to a three-back system?
Personally, I think Potter has to stick with the formation that worked so well against Bournemouth. Kepa Arrizabalaga will surely start in goal, with Edouard Mendy carrying a slight injury problem.
Cesar Azpilicueta is likely to come in for the injured Reece James with Potter now very limited in options for the right-back spot. Marc Cucurella impressed against Bournemouth and could start again on the other side of the defensive four, with Ben Chilwell still out.
Thiago Silva picked up a slight injury knock against the Cherries and despite finishing the game in west London, he could be rested this afternoon. Trevoh Chalobah could replace him and partner Kalidou Koulibaly, with Wesley Fofana still sidelined through injury.
Mateo Kovacic could come into to the midfield three after returning to training earlier this week. However, Potter won't risk the Croatian should he not be in the right condition after featuring heavily for his country during the recently-concluded World Cup.
Equally, Denis Zakaria could start again after another impressive display earlier in the week. Mason Mount and Jorginho might be given the nod yet again after both impressing against Bournemouth.
The front three should remain the same. Christian Pulisic, Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz all looked like new players in the week. Potter should hand all three of them starts again and see if they can build up some momentum as the attacking trio.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Kepa; Azpilicueta, Chalobah, Koulibaly, Cucurella; Jorginho, Kovacic, Mount; Sterling, Pulisic, Havertz.
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