Chelsea have received a much-needed boost ahead of the weekend fixture against Nottingham Forest.
On Sunday afternoon, Chelsea travel to the City Ground to play against Forest in a mammoth showdown.
It’s the final day of the 2024/25 Premier League season, and both clubs are involved in the fascinating top-five race for Champions League qualification.
The simple equation for the Blues is that if they win, they will guarantee a top-five finish, barring a miraculous swing on goal difference.
Chelsea defender Levi Colwill expects a tough game against Nottingham Forest, especially because of the atmosphere the home fans will create. Hopefully, the visitors can deal with it much better than how they handled the recent away defeat against Newcastle United.
The worry for Chelsea fans going into Sunday may be that they’ve only won seven of their 18 Premier League away fixtures this season.
Incidentally, Anthony Taylor will referee Nottingham Forest against Chelsea in the league showdown.
Chelsea welcome back Christopher Nkunku and Marc Guiu for Nottingham Forest
On Friday morning, Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca shared two pieces of extremely positive team news.
Blues attackers Christopher Nkunku, 27, and Marc Guiu, 19, are available for selection against Forest after their respective absences through injury.
During his pre-match press conference, Maresca said via Chelsea’s official YouTube channel: “[Christopher Nkunku] is working with us in the last days, him and Marc Guiu. Both can be available for the next game… They can be available.”
It remains to be seen whether Nkunku or Guiu will be thrown into the starting line-up, but their returns are timely because Nicolas Jackson remains unavailable through suspension. Even if they provide an option from the bench, it could be very useful against Forest.
Nkunku hasn’t played since mid-April because of injury, but he could be a great person to call upon this weekend. He’s still scored 14 goals across all competitions this campaign despite a difficult period.
Bayern Munich are discussing Christopher Nkunku as they plot a summer transfer deal, but perhaps he can sign off on his Chelsea career with a huge moment against Forest.
As for Guiu, the teenage striker has been absent since the start of February with a hamstring problem. If he was fully fit, we would start him against Forest, but Chelsea’s medical team will know how many minutes he’s got in the tank.
Enzo Maresca confirms Reece James is fine
Whenever Chelsea captain Reece James is spotted training away from the group at any stage, panic usually sets in within the fanbase.
However, the 25-year-old defender is fit and sometimes trains separately on his own programme.
When asked about James’ fitness on Friday, Maresca confirmed via Chelsea’s official YouTube channel: “He is okay. Simply he has his own programme. We said already that we try to protect him, so we are managing him also in the training session.”
Like in Chelsea’s recent win against Manchester United, James should be named in the starting line-up on Sunday in his preferred right-back position.
