England Round 38

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Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea Preview:

Possible starting lineups:

Nottingham Forest:

Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Morato, Williams; Dominguez, Anderson; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood

Chelsea:
Sanchez; James, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella; Fernandez, Caicedo; Madueke, Palmer, Neto; Nkunku

Nottingham Forest will welcome Chelsea to City Ground as both teams are looking for Champions League spot. The last round sees five teams - Manchester City, Newcastle, Chelsea, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest - battle it out to secure one of the remaining three tickets for the Champions League. Liverpool and Arsenal are guaranteed a place at Europe's most prestigious club competition. In addition, Tottenham will also participate thanks to their UEFA Europa League win.

It has been a sensational season for Nuno Espirito Santo and his players, with many pundits tipping them for another relegation battle at the start of the season. However, it would also surely feel a bitter taste if they failed to qualify for the European top competition after spending so long in the top four this season. To be worse, even a victory doesn't guarantee a Champions League spot. And worst of all, they are in poor home form, having not won any of their last three at the City Ground. Dropping 8 of the possible 9 points is something like tragedy, especially because their opponents were Everton, Brentford and Leicester City. Nuno has some additional worries as key defender Murillo injured his ankle against West Ham. He had not trained since and most probably won't play in the final match of the season. Taiwo Awoniyi is on the right path to recovery following his emergency surgery, but I think this match comes too soon for him.

There is a simple mathematics for Chelsea, win and a top-five place is confirmed. Aston Villa could also collect 69 points if they beat Manchester United at Old Trafford, but the Blues have superior goal-difference. I've already mention Nottingham Forest's poor home form, but Chelsea have an opposite problem - their away form. The Blues have just one victory in their last 10 Premier League matches on the road. What is worse, they failed to score in six of those games. Enzo Maresca has additional concern as some players are sidelined. Wesley Fofana and Omari Kellyman remain out due to injuries, while Mykhaylo Mudryk continues to serve a provisional doping suspension. Of course, the biggest problem is the absence of key striker Nicolas Jackson. He was shown a red card for serious foul play at Newcastle and he received a three-match ban. Jackson already skip the derby against Manchester United, but will be out of the opening match of the 2025/26 campaign.

Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea Prediction:

Both teams are fighting for a Champions League spot, but there is a difference. Chelsea's task is straightforward; win and a place is confirmed. The things for Nottingham are more complicated, they need a victory here, but also positive news from other stadiums. In other words, they would need one of Newcastle or Aston Villa to not win their respective fixtures. It is always a problem depending on other teams results. Nottingham failed to beat the already relegated Leicester and that match could be decisive for more reasons. What spoiled the atmosphere most, it's the confrontation between the owner Evangelos Marinakis and manager Nuno Espirito Santo after the final whistle. The Greek billionaire came down to the pitch and verbally attacked Nuno. The Portuguese coach later said Marinakis' actions were understandable, explaining that it was the failure to substitute Taiwo Awoniyi that caused the anger. But nothing will be the same after that incident. I think Nottingham will lose here. The absence of Murillo is also a reason for my pick, he is simply irreplaceable. Chelsea are also handicapped due to Nicolas Jackson suspension, but Maresca has big roster and more players able to score.

Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea Pick: Chelsea to win @ 2.20 with Pinnacle