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Chelsea return to Premier League action on Saturday afternoon with the Blues looking to build some momentum with another three points against struggling Nottingham Forest
Bobby has been with football.london for over two years and has been covering Chelsea since the summer of 2022. During that time, he has been front and centre in perhaps the club's most turbulent time with Roman Abramovich selling to Todd Boehly. He is a regular at press conferences and matches, where he has managed to speak to Enzo Maresca and numerous Chelsea players.
Enzo Maresca will assess his Chelsea players today (Friday) ahead of tomorrow's Premier League return away at Nottingham Forest.
The Blues travel to the City Ground looking for their third victory on the bounce after narrow wins against Benfica and Liverpool prior to the international break. With eight of Maresca's players going on international duty with their countries, the Chelsea head coach will be desperate for all of them to have come through unscathed.
Today's training session in Cobham, the final one before Chelsea's Premier League clash with Forest, will tell Maresca more about the condition of those returning players. Either way, the Italian could make a host of changes from the side that defeated Liverpool in dramatic fashion two weeks ago.
Trevoh Chalobah is now available again after serving his one-match suspension in the Liverpool win. The 26-year-old defender could come back into the side for Josh Acheampong. While the 19-year-old impressed against the Reds, it would not be a surprise if Maresca went back to his tried and trusted formula for a tricky away game.
Wesley Fofana, who has now recovered from his concussion, has been training in Cobham for the past fortnight and could come back into the side. Benoit Badiashile felt something in the win before the break and limped off in the second half at Stamford Bridge, so he could drop out of the side.
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Romeo Lavia impressed in his cameo appearance against the champions a fortnight ago and could make his first start of the season at the City Ground. If that does happen, then fans could see Enzo Fernandez move a bit further up the pitch into the No.10 role, with Cole Palmer still missing through injury. However, the wait goes on to learn the full extent of the injury that Fernandez suffered while with Argentina.
The match-winner from the Liverpool game, Estevao Willian, made a real claim to start the trip to Nottingham. Maresca will have to see how the 18-year-old has recovered from a long flight back and what his fitness levels are before making the decision, but there is a real chance he could start on the right wing for the Blues in place of Alejandro Garnacho.
That would mean Pedro Neto moving out to the left wing in Garnacho's place. The Portugal international played a combined total of 120 minutes in his country's two games over the break.
Possible Chelsea line-up: Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella; Caicedo, Lavia; Estevao, Fernandez, Neto; Joao Pedro
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