Chelsea begin 2023 with a Premier League trip to the City Ground to take on Steve Cooper's Nottingham Forest on January 1.
The Blues stormed back into action after the World Cup break, with a 2-0 home win over Bournemouth, as Forest slipped to a 3-0 loss away at Manchester United.
Graham Potter has enjoyed a prolonged period with the majority of his squad during the World Cup break but a relegation battle looms large for Cooper's Forest.
The Sporting News is following the match live and providing live score updates and commentary.
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Nottingham Forest vs. Chelsea live score
| 1H | 2H | Final | |
| Nottingham Forest | — | — | — |
| Chelsea | — | — | — |
Goals:
Nottingham Forest vs. Chelsea live updates, highlights from Premier League
10 mins from kickoff: Forest head coach Steve Cooper has a chat with Sky Sports. "We do create a good atmosphere here when we play well," he observes. "We need to do that get good support. We've got to do our bit on the pitch.
"We need a reaction from the United game. We came off the pitch thinking that we could have believed in ourselves a bit more and taken it to them."
#NFFC 🤝 @UNRefugeesUK pic.twitter.com/xkSHXTwTdy
— Nottingham Forest FC (@NFFC) January 1, 2023
15 mins from kickoff: "It was a good performance against Bournemouth, certainly in the first half," Chelsea head coach Graham Potter replies when he's asked by Sky Sports about his rare decision to name a near-unchanged starting side this afternoon.
On Denis Zakaria continuing in midfield, Potter says: "I thought he had a nice partnership with Jorginho and they worked well together, and he was good against Brentford in a behind-closed-doors game during the break."
Potter then notes Forest's decent home form that has seen them go five unbeaten in all competitions at the City Ground, winning three times along the way. "Teams suffer here, for sure," he says.
"We know the challenge and it'd be great to build on the three points we got in the week. Steve Cooper's done a fantastic job. The crowd get behind them and they'll be up for it. We have to contend with that."
30 mins from kickoff: The final whistle has blown at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, where Aston Villa's resurgence under Unai Emery has continued with an impressive 2-0 win to lift the Villans to 12th.
Spurs have now lost three and won one of their last five games in all competitions, including a 2-0 defeat at the City Ground in the EFL Cup. Here's how Forest arrived today as they bid to repeat that result against their latest visitors from London.
Checking in on Trentside. 📍 pic.twitter.com/lKYaW6qnwk
— Nottingham Forest FC (@NFFC) January 1, 2023
45 mins from kickoff: Two amendments for Forest following their 3-0 defeat at Manchester United on Tuesday: Dean Henderson, who was ineligible against his parent club at Old Trafford, replaces Wayne Hennessey in goal, and midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White is in for the injured Jesse Lingard.
It's worth pointing out that Tottenham's likely-looking defeat means Chelsea will move five points off that all-important fourth position with victory. For Forest, the prize for a point or three remains the same: they'll move third-bottom with a draw - level on points with West Ham, the side immediately outside the relegation zone - and could go as high as 15th with a win, although their goal difference means it would probably earn them 16th place.
60 mins from kickoff: Team news! Chelsea make one enforced change from their 2-0 home win over Bournemouth, Cesar Azpilicueta returning at rightback in place of the injured Reece James.
Azpilicueta captains the side, and there are two notable inclusions on the bench: Mateo Kovacic and Hakim Ziyech, who were rested against the Cherries after each playing seven games at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, return as substitutes. Not bad options to have!
Meanwhile, Douglas Luiz has just put Aston Villa 2-0 up at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Your Chelsea side today! 🔵@ParimatchGlobal | #NotChe pic.twitter.com/TSYBM5Mkz0
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 1, 2023
75 mins from kickoff: Elsewhere in the Premier League: we mentioned on social media Spurs' miserable record before they hosted Aston Villa, and they've just fallen a goal behind again.
Having lost the 2022 FIFA World Cup final to Argentina with France, Bleus captain Hugo Lloris has been haunted by an Argentina international again. Emi Buendia has struck with a goal that the Spurs goalkeeper should have saved, so it's now seven consecutive matches in which Tottenham's opponents have netted first.
😳 Spurs have conceded the opening goal in each of their last six #PremierLeague matches.
— Sporting News Football Club (@sn_footballclub) January 1, 2023
😬 They have also conceded two or more goals in each of their previous six league fixtures. That’s their longest streak since a run of eight matches which ended in November 1988.#TOTAVL pic.twitter.com/FpundevGeF
90 mins from kickoff: While we await the lineups - including news of the Chelsea starting side who will bid to avoid a fourth successive away defeat in all competitions - don't forget to give our dedicated football social media channels a follow.
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105 mins from kickoff: Nottingham Forest are looking to win consecutive Premier League home games within the same season for the first time since their final two of the campaign at the City Ground in May 1999, when they were last in the divison.
Each of their last six home wins in the top-flight has seen them keep a clean sheet. Beware if you let one in, Forest fans: you've not won any of your last 26 at home when conceding at least once, losing 15 along the way since a 2-1 win over Spurs in January 1997.
120 mins from kickoff: Hello and welcome to The Sporting News' coverage of Nottingham Forest and Chelsea's opener in 2023! Chelsea haven't enjoyed the first game of the calendar year in recent times, drawing four and losing their last two.
They last had a longer winless run in their opening game of a year between 1929 and 1938, drawing four and losing six. Time for that to change? Forest will hope not as they plot a return to winning ways.
Nottingham Forest vs. Chelsea confirmed lineups
Jesse Lingard missed out for Forest after he was forced off with a muscle injury in the defeat to his former side at Old Trafford.
First choice goalkeeper Dean Henderson returned after being ineligible to face his parent club last time out.
Nottingham Forest starting XI (4-3-3): Henderson (GK) — Williams, Boly, Worrall, Lodi — O'Brien, Freuler, Mangala — Johnson, Gibbs-White, Awoniyi
Potter is still battling against a lengthy injury list at Chelsea, with Reece James now sidelined. Cesar Azpilicueta returned in the England fullback's absence, while Hakim Ziyech and Mateo Kovacic returned to the squad after an extended post-World Cup rest.
Chelsea XI (4-2-3-1): Arrizabalaga (GK) — Azpilicueta, Silva, Koulibaly, Cucurella — Mount, Jorginho, Zakaria — Pulisic, Havertz, Sterling
What time is Nottingham Forest vs. Chelsea kick off?
This Premier League clash will kick off at the City Ground on Sunday, January 1 at 4:30 p.m local time.
Here's how that time translates across some of the major territories:
| Kickoff time | |
| USA | 11:30 ET |
| Canada | 11:30 ET |
| UK | 16:30 GMT |
| Australia | 03:30 AEDT* |
| India | 22:00 IST |
| Hong Kong | 00:30 HKT* |
| Malaysia | 00:30 MYT* |
| Singapore | 00:30 SGT* |
| New Zealand | 05:30 NZDT* |
*Game starts on January 2 in these time zones
Nottingham Forest vs. Chelsea live stream, TV channel
Here's how to watch all of the action from this match in some of the major territories:
| TV channel | Streaming | |
|---|---|---|
| USA | — | Peacock |
| Canada | — | fuboTV |
| UK | Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League | Sky Go, NOW TV |
| Australia | — | Optus Sport |
| New Zealand | Sky Sport | Sky Sports |
| India | Star Sports Select 1, Star Sports 3 Asia | Star Sports Select |
| Hong Kong | 620 Now Premier League TV, Now Player, 621 Now Premier League 1 | now TV |
| Malaysia | Astro Super Sport 3 | Super Sport |
| Singapore | 221 Hub Premier 1, 222 Hub Premier 2 | StarHub TV+ |
UK: Matches are carried across Sky Sports and BT Sport streaming and TV platforms, with selected matches on Amazon Prime. Sky has the rights to this match.
USA: This match can be streamed on NBC's Peacock platform.
Canada: Every Premier League game this season is live streaming exclusively via fuboTV in Canada.
Australia: Fans in Australia can stream every match live and on demand on Optus Sport.
India: Star Sports network has the rights to show Premier League matches in India. As well as an English broadcast on Star Sports Select, select matches will be available via regional feeds on Star Sports 3 (in Bengali, English, Kannada, Malayalam), Star Sports 1 (Bangla) and Star Sports 1 (Tamil).
MORE: Watch every Premier League match live with fuboTV in Canada
