ENGLISH PREMIER BETTING PREVIEW - CHELSEA VS NOTTINGHAM FOREST

English Premier

2026-05-04 - Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest

A Sports Betting Preview by Auls

Chelsea v Nottingham Forest
Football: English Premier League
Monday 4th May 2026 - Kick Off 3pm
This game is live on TV

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Chelsea

The last game managed by Liam Rosenior ended in a devastating 3-0 defeat at Brighton, which has effectively ended Chelsea's hopes of finishing in the top five. Calum McFarlane took over until the end of the campaign and has helped Chelsea into the FA Cup Final, but the interim manager will still be demanding a strong finish with 6th place the aim.

After results last weekend, Chelsea have slipped to 8th in the Premier League table, but they are just 2 points behind Brighton in the top six and there is still an outside chance that it may be a position rewarded with Champions League Football. The Blues have a disappointing 6-5-6 record at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League.

Chelsea had lost 7 of 8 games in all competitions and had to make the managerial change, but the FA Cup win at Wembley Stadium last Sunday will make things feel a little better. Outside of a win over Port Vale, Chelsea have lost 4 of the last 5 games played at Stamford Bridge in all competitions and they have failed to score in any of those defeats.

Levi Colwell has been a big miss this season, but could return to the squad on Monday. Reece James is another hoping to be involved.

Nottingham Forest

Vitor Pereira may have been frustrated with some of the early results in his time as manager of Nottingham Forest, but he will be very happy with how things have turned around. Scoring goals will always catch the attention, but Nottingham Forest have been pretty stubborn defensively in the last couple of weeks.

Another clean sheet has helped Nottingham Forest lead the Europa League Semi Final against Aston Villa, while a couple of big Premier League wins has pushed them up into 16th place in the standings and 5 points clear of the bottom three. Plenty of attention will be on how the two teams below them perform on Saturday and Sunday, but The Tricky Trees will still head to West London keen on improving the 6-3-8 away record produced in the Premier League.

Nottingham Forest are unbeaten in 9 games in all competitions and they have won 4 in a row to put together considerable momentum. The side are unbeaten in 5 away games in all competitions and have won 3 of the last 4 on their travels. Most impressively, Nottingham Forest have won consecutive away Premier League games and scored 8 goals and kept clean sheets in both at Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland.

The likes of Murillo, Ola Aina, Jair Cunha, Ibrahim Sangare and Dan Ndoye are all doubts.

Head to Head

Three second half goals saw Enzo Maresca's Chelsea beat Ange Postecoglou's Nottingham Forest 0-3 at the City Ground earlier this season.

Since returning to the Premier League, Nottingham Forest are unbeaten in 3 visits to Stamford Bridge, although 2 of those have ended in draws.

Prediction

This is another one of those fixtures that is landing in an awkward spot and makes it that much tougher to call.

Nottingham Forest are not only in the middle of the Europa League Semi Final, but they have been tasked with a Monday outing while opponents Aston Villa play on Sunday. Vitor Pereira will be hoping Unai Emery's team can do his a favour by beating Tottenham Hotspur, which would ease any lingering relegation concerns, but Nottingham Forest may want to rotate the starting eleven with the Europa League in mind regardless of results earlier in the weekend.

It does make things harder to read.

On paper there is no doubting the kind of form that Nottingham Forest have been putting together and that has seen them move into a position to round out this campaign with some big memories for the fans to take with them.

4 wins in a row in all competitions and back to back away Premier League wins in games where Nottingham Forest have scored 8 goals and kept two clean sheets cannot be ignored.

However, that Europa League Semi Final Second Leg is creating doubt and Chelsea's 1-0 win over Leeds United in the FA Cup Semi Final may have eased tension around the home team.

Calum McFarlane takes over as interim manager for a second time this season and the players have responded to him with a decent performance in the win over Leeds United. They were not the most convincing, but Chelsea showed more grit and determination than they had been under Liam Rosenior and that cannot be ignored.

Key players are returning to the squad to offer up some leadership and Chelsea are still keen for a top six finish and a return to European Football.

A lack of goals is a concern, but having less distractions around the team can be so important when European Football is played in May.

And without a doubt the home team have less to think about than Nottingham Forest.

This could come into focus in this match, but it is going to be a close game and the first goal is going to be really important for whatever team is able to find that.

Chelsea have not been able to beat Nottingham Forest here since the latter returned to the Premier League, but they may not have a better opportunity. The top flight is the priority for Vitor Pereira, but Nottingham Forest are so close to a Europa League Final that there is no doubt that it will play a potential distraction for the visiting team.

Ultimately this could make all of the difference and Chelsea may do just enough to win this game.

The Pick :

Chelsea 2-1 Nottingham Forest

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back Chelsea to Win at 1.66 with Bet365 (early payout if a team is leading by two goals)