Nottingham Forest will host Chelsea in a Champions League shootout on the final day of the Premier League season this weekend.
The race to finish in the top-five remains the only intriguing narrative in Gameweek 38, with the title race over and relegation decided.
Liverpool became champions for the 20th time almost a month ago, with Arsenal all but confirmed to finish as runners-up.
However, just three points separate Man City in third and Forest in seventh, with five teams battling for three Champions League spots.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side will find themselves playing in UEFA’s third tier next season as things stand, with their destiny not in their hands.
Forest are guaranteed to overhaul Chelsea with a victory, but also need one of Aston Villa or Newcastle to fail to pick up three points.
For Enzo Maresca’s Blues, the task is much simpler, with their superior goal difference ensuring a win will be enough for a top-five finish.
How to watch Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea
This Premier League clash will take place on Sunday, May 25.
The match at the City Ground is set to kick-off at 4pm.
It will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event, with coverage from Nottingham to begin around an hour beforehand.
Sky customers can live stream this via the app using their mobile, tablet or computer devices.
You can also purchase a Sky Sports Day Pass from NowTV for £14.99, while Match of the Day will broadcast highlights later in the evening.
Premier League Gameweek 38
Sunday, May 25
- Bournemouth vs Leicester – 4pm
- Ipswich vs West Ham – 4pm
- Man United vs Aston Villa – 4pm – live on talkSPORT
- Newcastle vs Everton – 4pm – live on talkSPORT 2
- Wolves vs Brentford – 4pm
- Liverpool vs Crystal Palace – 4pm
- Southampton vs Arsenal – 4pm
- Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea – 4pm
- Tottenham vs Brighton – 4pm
- Fulham vs Man City – 4pm – live on Talk Radio
- Nottingham Forest have won just one of their last seven Premier League games against Chelsea (D3 L3), beating them 1-0 at Stamford Bridge in September 2023.
- Chelsea won this exact fixture 3-2 last season. Only once have they won consecutive away league games against Nottingham Forest, beating them 3-2 in February 1912 and then 4-0 over 10 years later (December 1922).
- Nottingham Forest have won 19 Premier League matches this season, more than they did in 2022-23 and 2023-24 combined (18). They last won 20+ games in 1994-95 (22), while they’ve never done so in a 38-game top-flight season.
- Nottingham Forest beat Burnley 2-1 in their final game of 2023-24. They’ve not won their last league game in consecutive campaigns since 2015-16/2016-17, while they last did so as a top-flight side in 1989-90/1990-91.
Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea: Team news
The hosts remain without Taiwo Awoniyi after undergoing urgent abdominal surgery that put him in an induced coma.
The striker collided with a goalpost during their 2-2 home draw against Leicester earlier this month.
Forest are sweating on the availability of key defender Murillo, with Eric da Silva Moreira also a doubt due to an ankle issue.
Chelsea, meanwhile, are again without the suspended Nicolas Jackson, while Mykhailo Mudryk remains unavailable for selection.
The Blues additionally have several fitness problems themselves, with Aaron Anselmino, Wesley Fofana, and Omari Kellyman sidelined.
Marc Guiu is closing in on a comeback from a thigh strain, but Christopher Nkunku is still a doubt with an unspecified issue.
- Chelsea are winless on the last three occasions they’ve ended their Premier League campaign with an away game, losing 3-0 v Newcastle in 2017-18, drawing 0-0 at Leicester in 2018-19 and losing 2-1 at Aston Villa in 2020-21.
- Even if they lose this match, Nottingham Forest are guaranteed their highest Premier League finish since 1994-95, when they came 3rd. Should results go their way on the final day, they could potentially reach the European Cup for the first time since the 1980-81 campaign, when they did so as reigning European champions.
- Only Liverpool (228) have had more shots on target than Chelsea (216) in the Premier League this season, their most in a season since having 223 in 2019-20.
- Nottingham Forest have gone seven Premier League games without a clean sheet, with goalkeeper Matz Sels currently joint top with Arsenal’s David Raya on 13 clean sheets this campaign. Sels is also level for goalkeeper clean sheets for Forest in a season alongside Mark Crossley in 1994-95.
Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea: What has been said?
Blues boss Maresca revealed this week that he is unhappy that Conference League final opponents Real Betis have been given two days of extra preparation for next week’s showdown.
La Liga have moved Los Verdiblancos’ final domestic match against Valencia – originally scheduled for Sunday – forward to Friday evening.
Chelsea, by contrast, travel to Forest on the final weekend day three days before their UEFA final in Poland next week.
Maresca said: “I’m not happy, 100 percent, you cannot allow another team 48 hours more when you play a European final.
“[Either we play Friday] or they play Sunday like us. I don’t know if it is from La Liga, the Premier League or UEFA, but if you ask people in this room if it is normal to play a final where another team has 48 hours more to prepare, it is not normal.”
