Chelsea are set to host Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon at 14:00 (BST) in gameweek 7 of the Premier League.
After an excellent 4-2 display against Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend, Enzo Maresca’s men are in great scoring form ahead of this matchup, especially Cole Palmer, who became the first Premier League player ever to score four goals in the opening half of a football match.
Meanwhile, Nuno Espirito Santos’ side are heading into this one on the back of a 1-0 defeat at home against Fulham, having conceded a penalty in the 51st minute, which was duly dispatched by Raul Jimenez.
Chelsea are considerable favourites to win with odds of 1/2, while a victory for Nottingham Forest has been set at 11/2 and a draw at 7/2.
As this fixture is being played at Stamford Bridge, and in the current form that Chelsea find themselves in, it is understandable why the Blues are odds-on to win this matchup.
Having won in their midweek clash 4-2 against Belgian side Gent in the Europa Conference League following their impressive victory over Brighton beforehand, Chelsea will be in high spirits heading into this one and are in supreme goalscoring form. Though, questions will be continuously posed over the defensive side of their game, having looked shaky at the back and vulnerable to transitions during the opening stages of the season. Led by the exceptional Cole Palmer, the quantity of attacking talent that the Blues possess is enough to fill two frontlines, as players such as Christopher Nkunku, Joao Felix, Pedro Neto, and Mykhailo Mudryk are all second-string options as it stands.
However, the style of the away side slightly differs from the hosts, as they have relied on their defensive solidity to secure them results, using the pace that they possess in wide areas through Callum Hudson-Odoi and Anthony Elanga to hurt teams in transitions. This worked to great affect in their 1-0 away win at Anfield recently, as Liverpool had very few answers to their compact shape.
| Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest – Odds Results | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bet | Fractional | Decimal | American |
| Chelsea Win | 1/2 | 1.5 | -200 |
| Draw | 7/2 | 4.5 | +350 |
| Nottingham Forest Win | 11/2 | 6.5 | +550 |
The bookies place the odds for over/under 2.5 goals at 4/7 and 13/10 respectively. Meanwhile, the odds state that this match is most likely to end in a 2-0 triumph for Chelsea, at 6/1.
One facet of the game that Maresca’s side certainly do not struggle with is scoring goals, as they head into this matchweek as the top scorers in the league on 15 goals scored, possessing one of the most lethal goalscorers and creators in world football, Palmer. Meanwhile, Forest do not attain the same level of quality in the final third as the hosts, scoring six in the league so far.
| Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest Scoring Odds | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bet | Fractional | Decimal | American |
| Both Teams to Score | 8/13 | 1.62 | -163 |
| Neither Teams to Score | 6/5 | 2.2 | +120 |
In the defensive areas of the pitch though, the scripts are flipped, as Chelsea have looked extremely vulnerable at times, making costly mistakes playing out from the back, and have been caught wide open in the midfield during turnovers high up the pitch. Nuno has drilled this Forest side to be compact and know their defensive duties, usually playing in a deeper block, making them difficult to break down and only conceding five goals in the league.
| Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest – Top Five Scorelines with Lowest Odds | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bet | Fractional | Decimal | American | ||||||||
| Chelsea Win 2-1 | 7/1 | 8.0 | +700 | ||||||||
| Draw 1-1 | 7/1 | 8.0 | +700 | ||||||||
| Chelsea Win 2-0 | 17/2 | 9.5 | +850 | ||||||||
| Chelsea Win 1-0 | 9/1 | 10.0 | +900 | ||||||||
| Chelsea Win 3-0 | 11/1 | 12.0 | +1100 | ||||||||
Controlling the tempo of the match and cutting out errors when playing out from the back will be key for Chelsea in this fixture, due to the open system that they operate in and the threat of the opposition’s counter-attacking speed and quality. For Forest, this match will be about maintaining defensive discipline and structure, while picking the moments to attack quickly and incisively.
| Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest Over/Under Odds | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bet | Fractional | Decimal | American |
| Over 0.5 | 1/40 | 1.03 | -4000 |
| Under 0.5 | 11/1 | 12.0 | +1100 |
| Over 1.5 | 1/6 | 1.17 | -600 |
| Under 1.5 | 7/2 | 4.5 | +350 |
| Over 2.5 | 4/7 | 1.57 | -175 |
| Under 2.5 | 13/10 | 2.3 | +130 |
| Over 3.5 | 11/8 | 2.38 | +138 |
| Under 3.5 | 8/15 | 1.53 | -188 |
| Over 4.5 | 3/1 | 4.0 | +300 |
| Under 4.5 | 2/9 | 1.22 | -450 |
| Over 5.5 | 6/1 | 7.0 | +600 |
| Under 5.5 | 1/12 | 1.08 | -1200 |
Cole Palmer is favoured to score first at 10/3, while Nicolas Jackson has been tipped at 11/8 to score at any time. For Forest, Chris Wood has been priced at 15/2 to find the net first, while Taiwo Awoniyi is valued as an anytime goalscorer at 3/1.
It goes without surprise that Palmer is the odds-on favourite to score first during this match at 10/3, and 10/11 at any time, having scored six times already this campaign, and 22 last time around in the Premier League.
| Chelsea Goalscorer Odds vs Nottingham Forest | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalscorer | First | Anytime | ||||
| Fractional | Decimal | American | Fractional | Decimal | Anytime | |
| Cole Palmer | 10/3 | 4.33 | +333 | 10/11 | 1.91 | -110 |
| Nicolas Jackson | 9/2 | 5.5 | +450 | 11/8 | 2.38 | +138 |
| Christopher Nkunku | 9/2 | 5.5 | +450 | 29/20 | 2.45 | +145 |
| Marc Guiu | 5/1 | 6.0 | +500 | 13/8 | 2.63 | +163 |
| Noni Madueke | 5/1 | 6.0 | +500 | 17/10 | 2.7 | +170 |
| Joao Felix | 11/2 | 6.5 | +550 | 15/8 | 2.88 | +188 |
Nicolas Jackson also possesses enticing odds to score first at 9/2 in this affair, having been the first player to get on the scoresheet in a match on three occasions already this season, against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Crystal Palace, and West Ham United.
| Nottingham Forest Goalscorer Odds vs Chelsea | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalscorer | First | Anytime | ||||
| Fractional | Decimal | American | Fractional | Decimal | Anytime | |
| Chris Wood | 15/2 | 8.5 | +750 | 27/10 | 3.7 | +270 |
| Taiwo Awoniyi | 8/1 | 9.0 | +800 | 3/1 | 4.0 | +300 |
| Morgan Gibbs-White | 9/1 | 10.0 | +900 | 15/4 | 4.75 | +375 |
| Callum Hudson-Odoi | 10/1 | 11.0 | +1000 | 9/2 | 5.5 | +450 |
| Jota Silva | 11/1 | 12.0 | +1100 | 9/2 | 5.5 | +450 |
| Anthony Elanga | 12/1 | 13.0 | +1200 | 11/2 | 6.5 | +550 |
Callum Hudson-Odoi presents great value odds at 9/2 to score anytime in this match, having scored nine goals in the Premier League since Nuno took over in December. Chris Wood is the most likely to score first for the Garibaldis at 15/2, and is their top scorer this season on three goals.
This game will be a good test of Chelsea’s credentials, as Nottingham Forest will come to Stamford Bridge with a defence-first mentality, and will be a tough side to break down. This means that the home side are likely to dominate the ball here, but will have to utilise it if they are to penetrate a stubborn Forest backline. The away side will be a threat on counter-attacks due to their blistering pace in wide channels, which could cause issues for Chelsea, having been vulnerable in transitions in previous matches. Forest are likely to cause the hosts problems here and could get on the scoresheet, but an eventual Chelsea win seems most likely. See our full prediction below.
Best Bets
- Chelsea to win (1/2)
- Both teams to score (8/13)
- Over 2.5 goals (4/7)
- Chelsea to win 2-1 (7/1)
- Cole Palmer to score first (10/3)
- Chris Wood to score any time (27/10)
All odds courtesy of William Hill.
