Chelsea will start without Moises Caicedo in the starting lineup, while Enzo Fernandez is absent due to injury. Young midfielders Lavia and Andrey Santos were given the opportunity to start. Nottingham Forest have made 5 changes, in which striker Chris Wood is out due to injury, giving way to Taiwo awoniyi.
Despite having more possession, Chelsea entered the game confused and were lucky not to concede after 2 dangerous shots by Gibbs-White. The visitors' most notable chance in the first half was when Andrey Santos missed a shot from the post after a pass from Joao Pedro.
In the second half, Chelsea suddenly exploded. In the 49th minute, Pedro Neto crossed accurately for Acheampong to head the ball to open the score. Three minutes later, Neto took a beautiful free kick to increase the score to 2-0. Although Nottingham Forest rose strongly with a series of opportunities, they still could not score due to the excellence of goalkeeper Sanchez and the crossbar and post.
In the 84th minute, Reece James' close-range shot sealed Chelsea's 3-0 victory after a corner kick. At the end of the match, Malo gust received a second yellow card and left the field, but that did not affect the final result.
The victory helped Chelsea temporarily enter the top 4 of the Premier League 2025-2026 with 14 points after 8 matches. While coach Ange Postecoglou's future at Nottingham Forest continues to be questioned after a disappointing run of matches since the start of the season.
