Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea Predicted Lineups, Odds, Preview & Prediction

This is a matchup between two teams who have under-performed expectations likely including their own and are both in a bit of a crisis moment; Forest with the change of Manager and terrible form, Chelsea with injuries and a subpar start to their campaign leaving them chasing the pack. Forest

• Can Forest get their first win under Ange Postecoglou and climb away from the relegation zone?
• Can Chelsea continue their winning ways without Cole Palmer for 6 more weeks?
• Bet Builder: Chelsea to win + Joao Pedro to Score or Assist + Over 1.5 Total Goals: 16/5

Find out all of that and much more in our preview of Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea. We have a match preview, predicted lineups, team and injury news, live odds, our score prediction and more for this GW8 matchup.

Match Details:

Fixture: Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea

Stadium: City Ground

Date: Saturday 18th October

Kick-off: 12:30 BST

Premier League Head-to-Head Record:

Nottingham Forest Chelsea Recent Premier League Results

25/05/25 - Nottingham Forest 0-1 Chelsea

06/10/24 - Chelsea 1-1 Nottingham Forest

11/05/24 - Nottingham Forest 2-3 Chelsea

02/09/23 - Chelsea 0-1 Nottingham Forest

13/05/23 - Chelsea 2-2 Nottingham Forest

Match Betting Odds:

Nottingham Forest to win: 13/5

Draw: 13/5

Chelsea to win: 9/10

Both Teams to Score Odds: 

Yes: 5/8 (Great value on Betrino/Betway)

No: 5/4

Player to Score Odds:

Joao Pedro: 7/5

Chris Wood: 21/10

Pedro Neto: 9/4

Player to Score or Assist Odds:

Joao Pedro: 5/6 (Favourite bet – click to place on Betrino/Betway)

Morgan Gibbs-White: 13/8

Pedro Neto: 6/5

Bet Builder Suggestion:

Chelsea to win + Joao Pedro to Score or Assist + Over 1.5 Total Goals: 16/5

 

Betrino is currently offering over 5% better value on Both Teams Not to Score compared with the average market line at most major sports books! Do not miss out!

 

Lineups will be updated throughout the week in live time as and when injury and lineup news is announced.

To head back to our main predicted lineups hub, click here.

Nottingham Forest Predicted Lineup:

Nottingham Forest Predicted Lineup GW8

GK - Selz

RB - Savona

CB - Milenkovic

CB - Murillo

LB - Williams

CM - Anderson

CM - Luiz

AM - Gibbs-White

RW - Ndoye

LW - Hudson-Odoi

ST - Wood

Nottingham Forest Team News:

Ange on Friday reveled “We’ve had a good few weeks training and everyone has come back [from the international break] in good condition”, so there are no major injury updates.

Not sure why Ange opted for a system he does not play, nor was it a system these players were accustomed to with Nuno, despite being short a starting centre-back. I would assume he learns his lesson and shifts back to a 4-2-3-1 that he and this Forest team have had success with. Callum Hudson-Odoi should come back in for Cunha who drops to the bench.

Murillo was an unused sub against Newcastle, likely not actually ready to play, but has been training fine during the international break and is on course to start against Chelsea.

Douglas Luiz was spotted in training during the international break and should be fit to start, replacing Yates who started against Newcastle in GW7.

Savona seems to be the right-back of choice with Aina out and Zinchenko likely out meaning Williams has to play left-back. Zinchenko was not called up to Ukraine national team duty while he deals with a groin injury.

Nottingham Forest Players to Watch:

Murillo: Should now be match fit after being involved in training over the international break.

Savona: Started at right wing-back against Newcastle, should start at right-back here with Aina and Zinchenko likely out.

Luiz: Has been training. Should be fit to start.

Hudson-Odoi: Think he comes back in to the starting XI with a likely formation change.

Zinchenko: Dealing with a groin injury.

Chelsea Predicted Lineup:

Chelsea Predicted Lineup GW8

GK - Sanchez

RB - James

CB - Fofana

CB - Chalobah

LB - Cucurella

CM - Gusto

CM - Santos

AM - Buonanotte

RW - Estevao

LW - Garnacho

ST - Neto

Chelsea Team News:

Speaking at his Pres Conference Enzo Maresca revealed bad news regarding Cole Palmer, stating “I was wrong. Unfortunately, he has to be out probably six more weeks…We are trying just to protect Cole as much as we can and the most important thing is that when he comes back, he is fully fit… We hope that six weeks is enough, but it’s a problem we need to see step-by-step, week after week. But, for sure, he is going to be OK… He is doing all the therapy he needs to do. He looks good”. 6 more weeks without Palmer will be difficult to manage especially if they pick up other injuries.

In slightly more surprising news, Chelsea’s injury list gets worse and worse. Enzo Maresca revealed “Then we have Moi [Caicedo], Enzo [Fernandez], [Joao] Pedro who didn’t take part in the session yesterday and we will see if they can train today, otherwise they are going to be out for tomorrow”. About as bad injury news as Chelsea fans could get. I would imagine Andrey Santos would come in for Caicedo to play alongside Gusto, Neto would shift to striker with Estevao and Garnacho on the wings with Buonanotte in the 10.

Maresca also revealed that “Unfortunately, Benoit [Badiashile] will be out until December. He has a muscle problem. He was doing fantastic, he showed how good he is, he showed how we need him and we’re going to wait for him…We have Levi [Colwill] and Liam [Delap] who are still out… Reece [James] is fully fit”. Good timing for Fofana and Chalobah to return to the squad given Badiashille and Colwill’s injuries.

Fofana should be fit to return after recovering from a concussion and training during the international break. Trevor Chalobah returns from his 1 game suspension served against Liverpool. Tosin’s original timeline given by Maresca a few weeks back was a return after the international break, but whether that was immediately after we don’t know. Training reports on Friday from Maresca will tell us a lot about the Chelsea centre-back situation this week.

Lavia has returned to team training but is not fit enough to play or start yet. Maresca revealed “He is not back yet. He took part in the session yesterday which is good news, but we wait for him”, so it sounds like it might be a few more weeks until we see Lavia starting games.

Delap has around 6 weeks of his injury recovery left.

Chelsea Players to Watch:

Palmer: Set to be out 6 more weeks.

James: Will be fit to start despite withdrawal from England duty.

Fernandez: If he does not train Friday he will not feature. Did not train Thursday.

Caicedo: Did not train Thursday. Needs to train Friday to start.

Joao Pedro: Also did not train Thursday. Also needs to take part in training Friday to feature on Saturday.

Tosin: Could be fit to face Forest.

Chalobah: Returns from his suspension.

Fofana: Seen training, will be fit for this weekend.

Buonanotte: Could start in the 10 role.

Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea Preview & Predicted Score:

 

Score Prediction: Nottingham Forests 1-2 Chelsea