Cole Palmer and Andrey Santos will return to the Chelsea starting lineup when they welcome Nottingham Forest to Stamford Bridge on Monday.
Chelsea will be desperate to return to winning ways and remain in the hunt for UEFA Champions League qualification when they host Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge on Monday night. Calum McFarlane has received positive updates on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Reece James (hamstring) and Levi Colwill (knee) are closing in on returning from their layoffs. However, Monday’s game may have come too soon for the defensive duo. So, Filip Jorgensen (groin), Jamie Gittens (thigh), and Estevao (hamstring) are the only players on the sidelines.
Additionally, Mykhailo Mudryk remains indefinitely unavailable after failing a doping test over a year ago. Meanwhile, during his pre-match press conference, McFarlane provided fitness updates on James and Colwill.
Chelsea’s interim head coach said, “Reece is back in training, and Levi is back in training also. Both are looking good, which is really positive. We’re still a little way out from the game [on Monday], so we’ll see how they do in the next few training sessions but are looking promising.”
“There are still a lot of games still to play, and we don’t want to push too much, so we’re just taking it day by day and, hopefully, they come through okay. Levi has had a long injury and we don’t want to push him too much. But both are looking good and potentially they could be [in the squad vs Forest], yes.”
“Reece has been brilliant from the day I stepped up in January. This time around, he’s injured, so it’s a little bit of a different role, but even though he’s still young, he’s massively experienced. He’s won major tournaments, he loves the club, and he cares about the club. He’s driving and pushing standards every day. We have a leadership group here that he’s a massive part of, and he’s been a massive support to myself and all the staff involved on an interim basis.”
Robert Sanchez is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Chelsea lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him against Nottingham Forest on Monday. The backline will feature Malo Gusto, Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, and Marc Cucurella.
As for the midfield unit, Andrey Santos will line up alongside Moises Caicedo in the double pivot, with Enzo Fernandez reprising the no. 10 role. Finally, Joao Pedro will lead the line for the home side against Nottingham Forest, with Pedro Neto and Cole Palmer being the two wide attackers. So, Romeo Lavia, Liam Delap, and Alejandro Garnacho will be among the backup options on the bench.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella; Santos, Caicedo; Palmer, Enzo Fernandez, Neto; Joao Pedro