Nottingham take on the visitors Chelsea in the round 18 match of English Premier League. The match will be played on Sunday, January 1st at City Ground (Nottingham).
Nottingham manage to jump into the top 6 of the Championship last season and to win the play-offs later. But still, for the level of the Premier League, this club was too weak and inexperienced, and the excessive number of newcomers, such an impression, only made it worse. But at the same time, they are not hopeless, and there were hopes that Steve Cooper would successfully use the opportunity to work quietly and work on the teamwork of the team. At least it started after the break and came out 4-1 away, albeit in the League Cup, with Blackburn. But if there was optimism after such a duel, then it was followed by a crushing defeat 0-3. Yes, from a difficult opponent, Manchester United, but the next one will not be much easier.
Chelsea faced an unexpected challenge. There was a lot of talk that Abramovich was thinking about the possible sale of his offspring - but at the beginning of this calendar year he was simply forced to part with his beloved project. It seems that an unexpected decision with a bet on Graham Potter as a new manager worked, but the positive impulse was disappointingly short-lived, and did not even last until the end of autumn. Well, the fans had to count on a forced, World Cup-related break. During this time, the players pulled themselves up from the infirmary, and the coaching staff had time to “work on the mistakes”. The first official match in a month and a half was the meeting at home with Bournemouth. There, by the 24th minute, the final 2-0 was drawn up due to a goal and an assist from Havertz. But the taste of “pyrrhic” in this victory remained: Reece James, who returned from injury, had to be substituted due to injury.
Chelsea have 7 head-to-head wins in a row. Including there were cup 2-0 at the beginning of the last calendar year. Nottingham may have added, but the progress of “Chelsea” is more noticeable. So we dare to assume that in this match the visitors will be able to win.
Prediction for the match: Chelsea to win.
