Six days on from beating Blackburn Rovers 4-1 in the EFL Cup fourth round, Nottingham Forest saw their four-game unbeaten run in all competitions come to an end when they lost 3-0 away against Man United on Tuesday night.
Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Fred were all on the scoresheet as Steve Cooper’s side struggled to lay a glove on the Red Devils and ultimately slumped to their ninth league defeat of the season.
Forest are the only team who are yet to secure maximum points away from home in the top flight so far this campaign and Cooper’s men remain in the relegation zone, but at the time of writing they are only one point adrift from safety and just four points behind Leicester City in 13th place.
While their away form has left a little to be desired, Forest have enjoyed more success in front of their own fans at the City Ground so far this term, accumulating 11 of their 13 Premier
League points on home soil. Indeed, the Tricky Trees are unbeaten in their last four home league matches, with score draws against Aston Villa and Brentford alternating between hard-fought 1-0 victories over Liverpool and Crystal Palace.
Forest also boast an impressive record in the month of January, winning 11 of their 19 Premier League matches which is their best win rate (58%) in a single month in the competition; only Man United (65%) have a higher win rate than Forest in January in Premier League history.
Chelsea, meanwhile, ended a four-game losing streak when they breezed past Bournemouth to claim a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
Kai Havertz and Mason Mount both scored within the first 24 minutes and although the Blues had numerous chances to further increase their lead, they eventually ran out comfortable winners and picked up their first three points in the Premier League since October 16.
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Graham Potter’s side remain eighth in the top-flight standings but Tottenham Hotspur’s draw with Brentford on Boxing Day means that the Blues have moved to within six points of their London rivals in fourth place with a game in hand.
Chelsea struggled on the road in the final few weeks before the World Cup, losing each of their last three away games and conceding seven goals in the process. Potter will now be keen to see signs of improvement on their travels as three of their next four fixtures in all competitions are away from Stamford Bridge.
The West Londoners have also failed to win their first league fixture in any of the last six calendar years, but their record against Nottingham Forest at least bodes well ahead of Sunday’s contest as they have won each of their last seven meetings with the Tricky Trees, scoring at least twice on each occasion.
In addition, Chelsea have lost only one of their last 11 away league matches against promoted teams, suffering a 3-0 defeat to Sheffield United in July 2020
