Chelsea 1-1 Nottingham Forest LIVE RESULT: Blues drop points against ten-man Forest after Ward-Prowse’s red card
CHELSEA have dropped points against ten-man Nottingham Forest in what turned out to be a fiesty thriller at Stamford Bridge.
Chris Wood temporarily put the visitors ahead before Noni Madueke equalised eight minutes later.
And the three points were there for the taking when James Ward-Prowse saw red for a bizarre handball, but Nuno Espirito Santos' men held on.
- RESULT: Chelsea 1-1 Forest
- Live stream/TV: Not televised in the UK
- Chelsea team: Sanchez, Cucurella, Gusto, Fofana, Colwill, Caicedo, Fernandez, Madueke, Palmer, Sancho, Jackson
- Nottingham Forest team: Sels, Aina, Murillo, Milenković, Moreno, Yates, Anderson, Ward-Prowse, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi, Wood
FOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS
Follow ALL the action from Stamford Bridge with our live blog below...
Enzo Maresca on results vs performances
The Chelsea head coach has spoken in the matchday programme ahead of this game, mostly about how he is happy with the side, but not to pay too much attention to the results.
"The results have been good recently, but we don't analyse the results, we analyse the performances and we try to improve with each game."
Enzo MarescaMultiple captains in the side
A few players have had the chance to captain Chelsea this season, with the Blues competing on multiple fronts.
Enzo Fernandez is the captain today, and has been most frequently in the absence of Reece James, but Moises Caicedo had the honour recently too, and has spoken about how much it meant to him.
"I'm grateful to Maresca for making me Chelsea's captain".
"I want to become a legend here and that’s what I’m working hard to do every day".
"It means a lot to captain Chelsea for me. It's a dream come true because I grew up supporting Chelsea!".
"I want to become a legend here"
Moises CaicedoJadon Sancho looking to go four from four
It's been three games and three assists for Jadon Sancho in the Premier League for Chelsea, a streak he will be looking to continue today.
That's more assists than anyone at Manchester United, whom he is on loan from...
The Forest defence will prove to be tough opposition for him, but don't be surprised to see him step up once more.
Jadon Sancho has impressed at his short time at Chelsea so farCredit: Alamy
The talk of the town
As I sit here in the press area at Stamford Bridge, the name on everyone's lips is one you could guess - Cole Palmer.
CP has ten goal contributions in just six games so far in the Premier League, and could move TOP of the G/A charts if he contributes to a goal in this game.
With four goals against Brighton in Chelsea's last league game, the expectations on him are high heading into this one.
The fans in the ground are eagerly anticipating his 'cold' celebration once again as they flood into the ground as I type this.
Expectations are high for Cole Palmer at Stamford BridgeCredit: Getty A solid base
While Nottingham Forest are a threat going forwards, with Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi flanking the ever-dangerous Chris Wood, it is their defence which has earned plaudits from many this season.
Statistically, they have the third best defence in the Premier League thus far this season, behind only Liverpool and Manchester City.
Murillo and Aina are two defenders who have particularly impressed, but will face a tough test against arguably the best attacking team in the league at the moment.
Murillo of Nottingham Forest has been rock solid so far this seasonCredit: Getty Looking for a repeat of last season
Nottingham Forest came to Stamford Bridge and won last season, after Anthony Elanga pounced and gave the Trees a lead.
While they have started brightly this season it is Chelsea who will be favourites heading into this game as the Blues are in fine form.
Nottingham Forest's starting XI
This is how the visitors look as they arrive at Stamford Bridge with the third best defensive record in the league...
Ola Aina and Callum Hudson-Odoi start against their former club Chelsea's starting XI
This is how the Blues line up against Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge today.
It's a familiar side for Enzo Maresca's men Old friends become enemies
It might just be that Nottingham Forest's two best performers this season are products of Chelsea's youth academy...
Callum Hudson-Odoi is a familiar face at Stamford Bridge, and even scored against his former side in the final game of last season.
He is in fantastic form too, and will be keen to impress once more and show Chelsea what they're missing.
He's not alone either, former Chelsea full-back Ola Aina seems to have found his home in Nottingham, and having promised so much for so long, he has been given a chance to thrive in the Premier League and has grasped it with both hands.
Enzo Maresca will have surely earmarked these two before today's game.
Callum Hudson-Odoi (left) Celebrates with Ola Aina (centre)Credit: Getty
Feeling the blues
Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest will not be shown on TV as it hasn't been selected to be broadcast in the UK.
It was originally scheduled for a 3pm kick-off on Saturday, so therefore cannot be shown live.
The match was subsequently pushed back a day following Chelsea's progression into the Europa Conference League.
Enzo Maresca's side beat Gent 4-2 in their European opener, which meant it would have been too soon for the Blues to play on Saturday.
Manchester United's thrilling match against Aston Villa will be the game shown live on TV instead.
Opposites attract
No side’s Premier League games have produced more goals than Chelsea’s so far this season (22).
While matches including Nottingham Forest have seen the fewest number of goals (11).
Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson have scored a combined 10 of Chelsea’s 22 goals this season, with both of the forwards enjoying superb starts to the new season.
Credit: Getty Hello and welcome to SunSport’s live blog of Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest!
Enzo Maresca’s Blues have made a fine start to the season, taking 13 points from their opening six games.
Chelsea are looking to secure four straight wins in the Premier League as they look to keep pace with the top three.
They host a Nottingham Forest side who have also made a positive start to the new season but tasted their first defeat last time out.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s men were on the receiving end of a 1-0 defeat to Fulham last Saturday, with Raul Jimenez’s penalty the difference between the two sides.
Forest travel to a ground where they have had recent success after last season’s 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge.