‘A Blue Up North’ looks ahead to the ‘League’ Cup tie against Nottingham Forest…
In a quick turnaround of back to back home matches, Chelsea host Nottingham Forest in the Carabao sponsored League Cup this Wednesday. Unlike Sunday’s tightly contested 0-0 draw against Arsenal, this will be a clash between two former Champions of Europe, with Forest’s most successful period coming in the late 1970’s and the 1980’s under the enjoyable stewardship of Brian Clough.
Forest have been through some tough times recently which has seen them drop down to England’s third tier and the club has changed ownership acrimoniously a couple of times. The huge debts that the club had incurred are mostly cleared and the future is looking more healthy for the once all conquering midlands club. Under the ownership of Evangelos Marinakis, a Greek shipping magnate who also owns Olympiakos, and managed by Mark Warburton, they are looking more stable as a club and will be ready to take advantage of any frailties shown by The Blues.
This match, and especially Antonio Conte’s team selection, will be intriguing and potentially exciting. Being fourth on the list of competition priorities, the starting line up and the attitude on the pitch will be different to all of this season’s competitive matches so far. We can expect a mix of a few younger prospects and a few still gaining full fitness to be slotted into the team. Hazard, Bakayoko and Zappacosta are likely to return to starting duties, while Batshuayi, Musonda and possibly Kenedy will receive opportunities to prove themselves. Meanwhile Caballero will get his first run out in a Chelsea shirt and the rested Rudiger and Christensen will return to the back three. And don’t be surprised to see a new name or two on the bench – Ethan Ampadu and Dujon Sterling have impressed Conte enough that they have been training with the first team occasionally recently.
Forest, and especially their travelling fans, will see this as a big day out and a chance to impress against one of Europe’s best. Their squad includes ex Chelsea youth players Michael Mancienne and Liam Bridcutt, and ex Sunderland, Newcastle and Celtic striker Daryl Murphy who will relish the chance of firing in a goal or two on the night.
The atmosphere will be electric with a sell out stadium full of supporters hopeful of another strong cup run. Some of the media may speculate that this is a low priority match for Chelsea but most of the 37,000 crammed into the home sections will make it feel otherwise.
Conte is a winner and he will not want a repeat of last season’s loss at West Ham in this competition . His team will be sent onto the pitch knowing what is required of them to move onto the fourth round and beyond.
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