Chelsea at Nottingham Forest: EPL betting guide and tips

Here are your betting guide and tips for the Premier League match between Chelsea and Nottingham Forest.

Although Chelsea’s 2-0 victory over Bournemouth on Tuesday wasn’t perfect, it was one of the better performances the team had given in quite some time. More importantly, it halted the Blues’ five-game domestic losing streak in a matchweek that saw nearly every other top-half side take all three points.

Kai Havertz and Mason Mount both needed boosts in confidence, so seeing their names on the scoresheet was also a pleasant surprise. However, it was hard to be fully pleased with the outcome as Reece James exited in the 53’ after re-aggravating the knee injury that forced him to miss the World Cup.

The English starlet will spend at least another month on the sidelines with the knock, which means Todd Boehly and the club’s hierarchy will likely be searching for a suitable replacement, or at least competition to Cesar Azpilicueta for the starting right back role, during the winter transfer window. The rumors of Chelsea’s projected spending in January are astronomical, so let’s hope the newly-appointed football and scouting directors are as adept at talent evaluation as we’ve been told they are.

Winning two of our three bets in the first match back from the World Cup break was a huge boost to our morale here at The Pride of London, but we want to stay positive to kick off the new year. The Blues will as well, and will have a solid opportunity to do so against lowly Nottingham Forest on New Year’s Day.

The Tricky Trees currently sit 19th in the Premier League table and have won only two domestic contests since August 15, despite reportedly spending around 150million on 21 new players during the summer window.

Still, Graham Potter and his men are only slight favorites over Sunday’s opponents, with the odds currently set at -160 in favor of the club from the capital. Slamming Chelsea moneyline is a pretty enticing proposition at that value.

The top teams in England have clearly come to play during the second half of this 2022/23 campaign, so dropping points against discernibly weaker opposition is no longer an option. I’ll back our squad to meet the challenge.

The most recent matchups between these two clubs would also point to a Blues’ victory on Sunday, although many of these meetings aren’t actually that recent. Chelsea and Nottingham Forest have only met five times in the 21st century, with the former winning all five.

Incredibly, the two latest clashes, both FA Cup ties that finished 2-0 in favor of the London side, took place on January 5 in 2019 and 2020, respectively. There’s no need to overthink the play, which is why I’ll probably just take the Blues on the moneyline. I’m not mad at anyone who wants to live dangerously and take Chelsea -1 at +200, though.

Another bet I like against Nottingham is the away team to score over 1.5 goals at -122 odds. The front three of Havertz, Christian Pulisic, and Raheem Sterling played extremely well against Bournemouth, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Potter deploys the same forward line at The City Ground this weekend.

Personally, I’d like to see Hakim Ziyech get more playing time following his terrific showing for Morocco at the World Cup, so substituting him for Raz on the right wing would be my only suggested change to the starting XI.

The Blues still boast a top-five defense in the Premier League, they simply haven’t been able to find a reliable source of goals to turn draws and close defeats into victories. Perhaps the six-week international hiatus inspired more creativity in Chelsea’s attackers.

Official Chelsea odds (via FanDuel as of December 30)

Chelsea ML: -160

Nottingham Forest ML: +440

Draw: +290

Over/Under: 2.5 (-104/-116)

My bets:

The Blues’ fixtures in their return to the Premier League are relatively kind, so it’s imperative they take every available point from the teams at the bottom of the table. Nottingham Forest falls firmly into this category.

I’m hoping the team’s confidence from the win over Bournemouth will carry over into this match and lead to a second consecutive comfortable victory. With that in mind, I’m taking Chelsea moneyline at -160 odds and the away team to score over 1.5 goals at -122.

I want a little value for my final pick for this contest, so give me Chelsea to be leading at halftime at +125 odds. Playing away from Stamford Bridge has been a challenge for Potter and his squad throughout the season, but Sunday is probably their best opportunity to turn that trend around.