Paul Merson has offered his prediction for Saturday’s Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Chelsea.
Nuno Espirito Santo can assure survival if three points are earned at the City Ground and Luton fail to defeat West Ham at the London Stadium, so motivation should be high among the team.
In reality, survival is possible even if the Blues defeat the Reds and Luton fails to win – however it is not mathematically guaranteed, as Luton may conceivably close the current goal difference margin of 11.
Paul Merson has offered his predictions for Chelsea’s match against Nottingham Forest on Saturday at the City Ground.
Paul Merson predicts a draw between Nottingham Forest and Chelsea.
Well, Steve Cooper oversaw a 1-0 victory at Stamford Bridge in September courtesy to Anthony Elanga’s goal, and Merson expects Nottingham Forest to finish the 2023/24 season unbeaten against Chelsea.
The 56-year-old wrote for Sportskeeda: “Todd Boehly praised Chelsea’s recent run of form in an interview earlier today, but I don’t want that to hide their flaws.” They’ve been a bag of surprises this season under Mauricio Pochettino; you never know what to expect from them.
“Forest are decent at home and may not require any additional points to stay up if Luton do not produce a great result. However, they are still fighting for survival and will be on their toes to increase their point total, so I’m going with a draw. I admire Raheem Sterling and still believe he has a lot to contribute, but I’m not sure how many takers he’ll have because of his salary. It will be intriguing to observe how his future unfolds this summer.
Merson expected a 2-2 tie.
History can repeat itself.
Nobody anticipated Nottingham Forest to achieve survival last season when Arsenal visited the City Ground in May, but that is exactly what occurred when Taiwo Awoniyi scored a 1-0 victory.
While Chelsea are admittedly in good form following a 5-0 victory over West Ham and a 2-0 win over Tottenham, we are optimistic Nuno can get a result after last week’s 3-1 success over Sheffield United improved the morale tremendously.
Furthermore, we wouldn’t rule out Callum Hudson-Odoi returning to torment his former club after scoring two fantastic goals at Bramall Lane last week, leaving Ryan Yates in amazement.
Nottingham Forest will hopefully put an end to relegation fears on Saturday, following a very difficult 2024 so far.