Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea

A place in next season’s Champions League is on the line as Nottingham Forest and Chelsea go head-to-head in a ‘make or break’ Premier League final-day showdown at the City Ground. 

Despite already securing European football, seventh-placed Nottingham Forest can still dine out at Europe’s top table for the first time since 1980/81 next season. However, they must beat Chelsea on the final weekend while hoping Aston Villa or Newcastle drop points elsewhere to lock down a Champions League qualification berth. Nuno Espirito Santo’s charges have recently struggled at the City Ground, going winless in their last three home league outings (D1, L2). Therefore, it’s questionable whether they can hold up their end of the bargain. Adding to this sentiment, they slumped to a 3-2 defeat in this corresponding fixture last term, albeit they’ve not lost back-to-back home league H2Hs in over a century. Confident about maintaining that trend, Forest head into proceedings on the back of a 2-1 win at West Ham, which saw them halt a four-game winless run in all competitions (D2, L2).

On the other hand, Chelsea are on the verge of returning to the Champions League after a two-year absence as they enter the final day in fifth and final qualification spot. Beating Forest will do the trick, and having won six of their last seven outings across all competitions (L1), they look primed to extend a two-game unbeaten H2H run (W1, D1). It would see Enzo Maresca’s side set themselves up perfectly for next week’s UEFA Conference League final against Betis. However, the Blues’ recent away form cannot inspire much confidence, considering they’ve only won one of their last ten league matches on the road (D3, L6). Furthermore, they’ve lost all six Premier League away clashes this term against teams starting this round eighth or higher.