Welcome to the final month of the season, which we begin with a home game against Nottingham Forest. Nothing but a win will do if we want to keep pace in the race for sixth, and avoid another unsightly midtable finish.<\/p>\n
Interim head coach Calum McFarlane got his first win last weekend, and he\u2019s kept mostly the same lineup. The only changes are in attack, where Cole Palmer and Jesse Derry (!) start instead of Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho. Derry\u2019s first senior start. Neither Neto nor Garnacho on the bench, which is a concern. We do have Reece James and Levi Colwill (and Filip J\u00f6rgensen) in the squad.<\/p>\n
Looks like a bit of rotation for the visitors, who were in action midweek in the Europa League.<\/p>\n
Chelsea starting lineup (4-2-3-1):
S\u00e1nchez | Cucurella, Tosin, Chalobah, Gusto | Lavia, Caicedo | Derry, Enzo (c), Palmer | Jo\u00e3o Pedro<\/p>\n
Substitutes from: J\u00f6rgensen, Acheampong, Colwill, Fofana, James, Hato, Santos, Essugo, Delap<\/p>\n
Nottingham Forest starting XI:
Sels | Morato, Awoniyi, Dom\u00ednguez, I.Jesus, Yates (c), Jair Cunha, McAtee, Netz, Bakwa, Abbott<\/p>\n
Substitutes from: Ortega, Williams, Anderson, Gibbs-White, Wood, Da Silva Moreira, Lucca, Hutchinson, Milenkovi\u0107<\/p>\n
Date \/ Time: Monday, May 4, 2026, 15.00 BST; 10am EDT; 7:30pm IST
Venue: Stamford Bridge, SW6
Referee: Anthony Taylor (on pitch); James Bell (VAR)<\/p>\n