Chelsea predicted lineup vs Nottingham Forest: Kai Havertz leads the frontline

Chelsea returned to winning ways after their 2-0 win against AFC Bournemouth midweek. Graham Potter’s men now look to win two consecutive games as the Blues travel to the City Ground to face Nottingham Forest on New Year’s Day.

Chelsea registered a comprehensive win over Bournemouth and the intention will be to build on that win and ride the momentum against Nottingham who are currently in the drop zone with just 13 points in 16 games.

Chelsea does not boast an impressive away record with four of their five league losses coming away from Stamford Bridge. Nonetheless, Chelsea have enough firepower to breeze past Forest and make this a routine win.

Potter’s side will be without Reece James who suffered a recurrence of knee injury against Bournemouth and is now ruled out for a month. In his absence, captain Cesar Azpilicueta is the likely player to come into the starting eleven. The likes of N’Golo Kante, Armando Broja, Ben Chilwell, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Wesley Fofana remain sidelined with injuries too.

What will come as a boost is the availability of Mateo Kovacic and Hakim Ziyech. The pair were given extra time off after their FIFA World Cup campaigns with their respective national sides. The duo returned to training and adds depth to the side.

Chelsea predicted lineup vs Nottingham Forest

Goalkeeper: Kepa Arrizabalaga

Kepa has turned it around at Chelsea and remains much sharper than Edouard Mendy based on current form. The Spaniard kept a clean sheet against the Cherries and will be hoping to add another clean sheet to his tally against the second lowest scoring opposition in the league.