Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea May 11th 2024

Chelsea's hunt for Europe has gotten a lot more interesting after their recent victory against Tottenham and their 5-0 thrashing against West Ham. They have now leapfrogged Manchester United in the table and lie in 7th place. With Nottingham Forest's appeal to have their 4-point deduction overturned rejected today, they are still very much in the relegation fight which makes this game at the City Ground a lot more interesting.

Are Forest Safe From the Drop?

Nottingham Forest fans will probably still feel that they are most likely safe from relegation this season despite their appeal being rejected today. Last weekend went very well for them as they picked up all three points against already relegated side Sheffield United. With both Luton Town and Burnley dropping points over the weekend, Forest fans will fancy their chances of staying up for another season of Premier League football. The latest EPL Betting Odds see Forest being heavy favorites to stay up with odds of +800 for them to be relegated and odds of -1400 to not be relegated. Still, there are no guarantees in football, and Nuno Espirito Santo will know his side can not allow any complacency to creep into their performances in the next two games.

Can Pochettino's Chelsea Guarantee Europe?

With Chelsea's convincing wins over Tottenham and West Ham, Mauricio Pochettino's first season at Stamford Bridge looks like it might just end on a slight high note. Where it once looked like Chelsea might not even make the top half of the league, it now looks like they are in a strong position to achieve European football for next season. They have now leapfrogged Manchester United and lie in 7th place only two points adrift of 6. Pochettino along with everyone else will know this is still not good enough given the amount of money Chelsea have spent over the past few transfer windows, but I imagine finishing in a European place may just save Pochettino his job at Stamford Bridge. 

Plenty of Goals for Chelsea (-163)

For my first pick of this same game parlay, I am backing Chelsea to score over one goal in the game. Chelsea have scored over one goal in nine of their last ten games whereas Nottingham Forest have conceded at least two goals in five of their last six games with the one exception being against last-placed Sheffield United. I see no reason why this form should change for either club so will be packing at least two Chelsea goals at -163.

Cole Palmer to Find the Target Twice (+137)

Cole Palmer has had an outstanding season for Chelsea and if not for Erling Haaland's four goals over the weekend, he would still be in the hunt for the Premier League golden boot. Palmer has averaged 1.4 shots on target per game this season but, as Forest have quite a leaky defense I can see Palmer getting quite a lot of opportunities to shoot so am backing him to have at least two shots on target at odds of +137.

Diarmuid's EPL Prediction

Chelsea to score over 1 goal and Cole Palmer is to have over 1 shot on target at odds of +200.