Chelsea are where they don't want to be and a 'walk trough the forest' could take them to a better place

It is a transitional campaign for Chelsea, that's a given. But even with that in mind there is a lot of dissatisfaction among the members and the fans of the Blues. Sitting ninth at the moment, they are far from where they want to be, and the new US owners wouldn't like to see Chelsea anywhere else but in the Champions League next season.

The next step in their quest for the top four is struggling Nottingham Forest, who are penultimate in the Premier League standings and are eager to move upwards and get out of the relegation zone.

Last time out, the Blues secured a comfortable home win over Bournemouth while the Tricky Trees were defeated at the hands of Manchester United at Old Trafford. Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Fred were all on the scoresheet (3-0) to ultimately slump Forest to their ninth league defeat of the season.

Forest are the only team who are yet to secure maximum points away from home in the top flight so far this campaign and Steve Cooper's men remain in the relegation zone, but at the time of writing they are only one point adrift from safety and just four points behind Leicester City in 13th place.

What brings hope to tonight's hosts is the fact that Forest have enjoyed much more success in front of their own fans at the City Ground so far this term - accumulating 11 of their 13 Premier League points on home soil. Indeed, the Tricky Trees are unbeaten in their last four home league matches.

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Also, Forest love playing in January. They boast an impressive record in the first month of the year, winning 11 of their 19 Premier League matches which is their best win rate (58%) in a single month in the competition; only Man United (65%) have a higher win rate than Forest in January in Premier League history.

However, if Chelsea are at their best - or let's say better - those stats should mean little to Forest. The Blues are not doing well and every match is a chance for them to bring their form up. They ended a four-game losing streak when they breezed past Bournemouth to claim a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday - their first three points in the Premier League since October 16.

However, The West Londoners have failed to win their first league fixture in any of the last six calendar years, but their record against Nottingham Forest at least bodes well ahead of Sunday's contest as they have won each of their last seven meetings with the Tricky Trees, scoring at least twice on each occasion.

Chelsea struggled on the road in the final few weeks before the World Cup, losing each of their last three away games and conceding seven goals in the process. Graham Potter will now be keen to see signs of improvement on their travels as three of their next four fixtures in all competitions are away from Stamford Bridge.

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In addition, Chelsea have lost only one of their last 11 away league matches against promoted teams, suffering a 3-0 defeat to Sheffield United in July 2020.

As far as the rosters go, the hosts will be able to welcome back Man United loanee Dean Henderson to the starting lineup after the goalkeeper was ineligible to face his parent club last time out.

On a more sour note, the hosts' injury list continues to grow, with Morgan Gibbs-White now set "for a little while" on the sidelines with a muscle problem, while Jesse Lingard is a doubt after coming off against the Red Devils with discomfort in his hamstring. Either Sam Surridge or Emmanuel Dennis could start at the expense of Lingard should Cooper decide to stick with a 4-3-3 formation.

Omar Richards and Giulian Biancone continue their recovery from their respective injuries as well as Chiekhou Kouyate and Moussa Niakhate who both remain long-term absentees with hamstring problems. Serge Aurier recovered from a minor calf issue to start against Man United, but he could be replaced at right-back by Neco Williams.

Pretty much the whole footballing world is aware of the injury plague that has taken over Chelsea. Armando Broja (ACL), N'Golo Kante, Ben Chilwell (both hamstring), Wesley Fofana (knee) , Ruben Loftus-Cheek (calf) and the unlucky Reece James who managed only 53 minutes of play against the Cherries before reviving that pre-World-Cup knee injury.

Captain Cesar Azpilicueta is expected to take his place at right-back while Kepa Arrizabalaga recovered from a foot problem and is set to keep his place between the sticks ahead of Edouard Mendy.

Potter may consider a couple of other changes to freshen up his side, with Conor Gallagher potentially replacing Denis Zakaria in centre-midfield, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will be hoping to force his way into the first XI ahead of either Kai Havertz, Raheem Sterling or Christian Pulisic.

Mateo Kovacic and Hakim Ziyech - who were granted extra time off following their World Cup exploits with Croatia and Morocco respectively – could be in a position to return to the matchday squad, but a place in the first eleven is seemingly unlikely for the midfield pair.

Tottenham Hotspur's draw with Brentford on Boxing Day means that the Blues have moved to within six points of their London rivals in fourth place with a game in hand. This makes this clash with Forest even more important for Chelsea who want to begin 2023 with a victory at the City Ground and bring joy to their fans on New Year's Day.

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE - Matchday 18

Friday

West Ham - Brentford 0-2 (0-2)

/Toney 18, Dasilva 43/

Liverpool - Leicester 2-1 (2-1)

/Faes 38 og, 45 og - Dewsbury-Hall 4/

Saturday

Wolverhampton - Man.Utd 0-1 (0-0)

/Rashford 76/

Man City - Everton 1-1 (1-0)

/Haaland 27 - Gray 64/

Newcastle - Leeds 0-0

Fulham - Southampton 2-1 (1-0)

/Ward-Prowse 32 og, Palhinha 88 - Ward-Prowse 66/

Bournemouth - Crystal Palace 0-2 (0-2)

/Ayew 19, Eze 36/

Brighton - Arsenal 2-4 (0-2)

/Mitoma 65, Ferguson 77 - Saka 2, Odegaard 39, Nketiah 47, Martinelli 71/

Sunday

17.00: (1.70) Tottenham (3.70) Aston Villa (5.20)

19.30: (6.00) Nott.Forest (3.80) Chelsea (1.67)

***odds are subject to change