Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest LIVE!

Nottingham Forest earned a 1-1 draw at Chelsea on Sunday despite going down to 10 men in the 78th minute, as a fine defensive and goalkeeping display kept the hosts at bay in an at times frenzied Premier League encounter.

After a slow-burn first half, it was Forest who scored first when a classic James Ward-Prowse free kick found defender Nikola Milenkovic at the back post in the 50th minute and the Serbian nodded the ball across goal and Chris Wood tapped it home. The match sprang into life and six minutes later Chelsea exploited a rare crack in Forest's highly-disciplined defence when the ever-busy Noni Madueke latched on to a Cole Palmer ball, cut inside and sent it into the bottom corner.

Forest were reduced to 10 men when Ward-Prowse grabbed the ball on the ground to stop Nicolas Jackson running free on goal and received a second yellow card. Matz Sels kept Forest in the game with a series of saves from Palmer and Christopher Nkunku and the visitors also had chances kept out by Robert Sanchez in an end-to-end 13 minutes of added time.

Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest latest updates

• GOAL! Madueke levels it up

• GOAL! Wood breaks the deadlock

Full-time!

16:05 , Alex Young

105min: That’s it! A thrilling end to an entertaining draw.

16:02 , Alex Young

103min: Sanchez with ANOTHER huge save to deny Jota in the final seconds.

15:59 , Alex Young

100min: Williams with a snapshot straight at Sanchez after some pin-ball on the edge of the area.

15:57 , Alex Young

99min: Neto booked for a late challenge. That looked unnecessary.

15:54 , Alex Young

96min: Up the other end, Nkunku is denied from close range by Sels. He should also have scored!

15:54 , Alex Young

95min: Williams simply has to score!

He gets the better of the Chelsea defence - just waltzed through - and has just Sanchez to beat, but the goalkeeper is at full stretch to deny him.

15:52 , Alex Young

93min: Tosin is on for Colwill, who was booked after the melee.

15:51 , Alex Young

92min: Oh, Felix should score!

Neto cross, waiting for the net to bulge, but the striker’s header is wide.

15:48 , Alex Young

90min: Neto and Mudryk are on for Sancho and Madueke, and there will be 13 added minutes.

15:48 , Alex Young

89min: Deary me.

We've got a fight between both sets of players on the touchline after an off-the-ball trip by Williams.

Madueke looks to have come off badly, hobbling off the pitch. It's fair to say the referee has lost control.

DOUBLE SAVE!

15:47 , Alex Young

87min: Incredible first touch from Palmer to bring the ball down and fire at Sels, who saves once and then again straight away.

Superb from the keeper.

15:44 , Alex Young

86min: Boos from Chelsea fans as Sels hits the deck after a collision at a corner.

Dom Smith at Stamford Bridge

15:43 , Alex Young

Mudryk and Neto are getting stripped and ready to come on.

15:41 , Alex Young

82min: Nkunku and Felix on for Chelsea, Fernandez and Jackson make way.

Elanga, Morato and Williams on for Forest.

15:39 , Alex Young

81min: Dominguez has just blatantly thrown the ball away to delay the restart. No yellow card.

No one tell Arteta.

RED CARD!

15:36 , Alex Young

78min: True moment of madness from Ward-Prowse, who dives on the floor and grabs the ball to stop a Chelsea counter-attack.

Second yellow card.

15:34 , Alex Young

76min: Six minutes later, Ward-Prowse’s free kick effort sails into Sanchez’s arms.

15:32 , Alex Young

74min: Gibbs-White is going off after long medical attention, and now Dominguez will come on but he’s not ready.

15:30 , Alex Young

70min: Big concern for Gibbs-White after a Forest attack. He’s down and stayed down. There was a scramble on the edge of the area, so not clear exactly what happened.

15:27 , Alex Young

68min: Forest trying to stifle Chelsea’s momentum, plenty of niggling fouls as we approach the final 20 minutes.

15:22 , Alex Young

63min: Jackson looks to have got away form the Forest back line but loses his balance when looking to fire.

It’s end to end.

15:18 , Alex Young

59min: It’s all Chelsea now as Madueke goes close again.

GOAL!

15:15 , Alex Young

57min: Madueke has looked the liveliest of Chelsea’s players and gets his goal, cutting inside and finding the far corner.

Palmer with the assist.

15:13 , Alex Young

55min: Forest showing no signs of sitting back as Anderson tests Sanchez from close range.

15:12 , Alex Young

54min: Poor from Palmer as he tries to find the diagonal run of Jackson but his pass is easily cut out.

15:11 , Alex Young

53min: Forest on top since the goal, pushing Chelsea back.

15:09 , Alex Young

51min: Nkunku, Felix and Neto are warming up.

GOAL!

15:08 , Alex Young

50min: Well, well, well! Forest strike first and it’s Wood!

The striker slides in to convert after Milenkovic’s knock down.

15:06 , Alex Young

47min: Caicedo looks to test Sels from distance but it’s not troubling the keeper.

Second half!

15:03 , Alex Young

46min: Back underway.

15:02 , Alex Young

No changes for Chelsea.

15:01 , Alex Young

Players are emerging from the tunnel. Forest first.

14:57 , Alex Young

A would expect Neto to come on around the hour mark if there had been no breakthrough, but all three of Chelsea forward line have been busy in the first half.

Dom Smith at Stamford Bridge

14:52 , Alex Young

Enzo Maresca will be really content with Chelsea's first-half display, even though the game remains level.

The Blues have been dominant, running at Forest through Palmer, Sancho and Madueke.

Keep playing like this, and there is little chance of the visitors leaving with a positive result. All Chelsea have missed is clinical finishing.

Half-time!

14:49 , Alex Young

48min: There’s the whistle! a great end to the half.

14:47 , Alex Young

45min: Up the other end, Yates is found in space inside the area to fire at goal but Colwill dives in front to block.

One minute added.

CHANCE!

14:45 , Alex Young

44min: I’m not sure how Palmer didn’t score?!

Looks certain to stroke the ball home from inside the area but a mixture of defenders and goalkeeper stop the ball on the line.

14:43 , Alex Young

40min: Stamford Bridge crowd in full voice as the clock ticks towards half-time.

Madueke to Palmer to Sancho on the edge of the area, back out to Madueke who finds Fernandez to drill at Sels.

Dom Smith at Stamford Bridge

14:38 , Alex Young

Enzo Maresca is regularly shouting at Sancho to remind him to stay wide, sensing joy when he runs at Ola Aina in a one-on-one.

14:37 , Alex Young

36min: Ward-Prowse into the book for a foul on Palmer. He’s got a tough afternoon ahead.

14:35 , Alex Young

34min: Cries for a Chelsea penalty as Palmer looks to be tripped by Moreno, but the Chelsea man has made a right meal of it... and is offside in any case.

14:33 , Alex Young

31min: Half an hour gone and Chelsea are still on top but not by much. Forest don’t look in too much trouble yet.

14:28 , Alex Young

27min: Gusto lets fly from the same place as a few minutes away, but it’s not troubling Sels in goal.

Dom Smith at Stamford Bridge

14:27 , Alex Young

Chelsea look well-drilled, are playing positively, but they aren't forcing the issue.

There is a calmness about their play here. You sense they will find the net before too long if it carries on like this.

14:25 , Alex Young

24min: Best chance so far for Chelsea as Madueke curls one beyond the far top corner.

That was close.

14:22 , Alex Young

21min: Caicedo into the book for a late challenge on the marauding Gibbs-White, so is regularly finding space in between the Chelsea midfield and defence.

14:22 , Alex Young

20min: Murillo and Sancho is a great bubbling battle. The defender took a while to get to grips with his opponent, but has his number since.

14:20 , Alex Young

18min: Gusto winds up and lets fly from 20 yards, but it hits the first defender on the edge of the area.

Palmer has been quiet so far.

14:18 , Alex Young

16min: Gibbs-White drives through the centre and opts to shoot rather than spot a team-mate, but his effort is weak and trickles wide.

14:16 , Alex Young

13min: Madueke has Moreno’s number time and time again, appears to being targeted by Chelsea.

14:13 , Alex Young

10min: It’s all Chelsea, flooding forward at every opportunity. Madueke seeing plenty of the ball.

Dom Smith at Stamford Bridge

14:11 , Alex Young

Positive play from Madueke, who will look to cut inside like that at any opportunity this afternoon.

You sense he, more than most in Maresca's preferred XI, needs to stay on form throughout the season to retain his place, given a genuinely classy alternative in the form of Pedro Neto is waiting in the wings.

14:10 , Alex Young

6min: Sancho is so bright early on, get in again but this time delays his shot and the chance goes begging.

Dom Smith at Stamford Bridge

14:05 , Alex Young

Even in the first few minutes, you can see Jadon Sancho is so sharp at the moment, early on in his Chelsea career.

A couple of nice turns already, with Ola Aina constantly looking behind him to check the Englishman's whereabouts.

14:05 , Alex Young

4min: Palmer to Madueke in the area, sending the latter to the byline looking for Sancho in the middle but the pass is cut out.

14:04 , Alex Young

3min: First touches of note for Palmer and the Stamford Bridge crowd reacts as you’d expect.

14:02 , Alex Young

2min: Chelsea players all getting a touch early on.

Kick-off!

14:00 , Alex Young

1min: Here we go!

13:57 , Alex Young

Here come the teams.

13:54 , Alex Young

Right, almost time. The players are back in their dressing rooms.

Dom Smith at Stamford Bridge

13:51 , Alex Young

Chelsea are certainly not a one-man team, but they do feel like a one-man show.

Many more phone cameras out and much louder screams for Cole Palmer as he jogs down the tunnel after his warm-up than for any other player. There is, quite understandably, an air of royalty about him.

13:46 , Alex Young

Dom might be onto something, y’know.

Dom Smith at Stamford Bridge

13:37 , Alex Young

Red and orange do not go together, and someone ought to have told the Nottingham Forest kit designer that.

Not to sit on the fence too much, but their warm-up kit is pretty horrid. A blue, orange, red and white mess. Anyway.

Dom’s turned into Anna Wintour, apparently.

13:29 , Alex Young

Half an hour until kick-off and the players have had a good look at the pitch. I do not think it will be entirely straightforward for Chelsea today.

Dom Smith at Stamford Bridge

13:19 , Alex Young

A big opportunity for Callum Hudson-Odoi to impress against his former team today as he returns to the Bridge.

But Enzo Maresca insisted ahead of this match that there are plenty of other dangerous players for Chelsea to be wary of, and he's right.

Chris Wood has been great goalscoring form this season, with Morgan Gibbs-White now a fully fledged England international.

13:08 , Alex Young

It’s the full 11 changes for Chelsea, as expected. Maresca insists there is not a Premier League XI and a separate Conference League XI, but that clearly isn’t true.

Nottingham Forest make just the two changes as Gibbs-White returns from suspended to start, and joins former Chelsea man Hudson-Odoi in the line-up. Dominguez and Awoniyi make way.

Team news in full

12:55 , Alex Young

Chelsea XI: Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Madueke, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson

Subs: Jorgensen, Disasi, Tosin, Veiga, Lavia, Neto, Mudryk, Felix, Nkunku

Nottingham Forest XI: Sels, Murillo, Anderson, Gibbs-White, Wood, Hudson-Odoi, Ward-Prowse, Moreno, Yates, Milenkovic, Aina

Subs: Miguel, Morato, Williams, Awoniyi, Dominguez, Jota, Elanga, Sosa, Boly

Nottingham Forest XI

12:49 , Alex Young

...and the visitors!

Chelsea XI

12:49 , Alex Young

As expected.

Dom Smith at Stamford Bridge

12:40

Jadon Sancho is catching up with Anthony Elanga on the pitch at Stamford Bridge.

It’s fair to say both seem to be enjoying life away from Old Trafford at the moment.

12:25 , Alex Young

We’re not expecting too many changes from Maresca from the win over Brighton.

Palmer should have shaken off any niggling fitness concern. That’s the hope, at least...

Enzo Maresca: I need time to return Chelsea to the top

12:10 , Alex Young

Enzo Maresca insists Chelsea cannot compete with Manchester City and Arsenal yet, because he has only been in post a matter of months.

The Chelsea boss took over at Stamford Bridge in July and has turned the club’s fortunes around quickly. They sit fourth in the Premier League, just two points off leaders Liverpool, and are the top-flight’s most in-form team.

Chelsea made it five wins in a row in all competitions on Thursday night when they beat Belgian side Gent 4-2 in the Conference League, and they return to league action on Sunday when they host Nottingham Forest, who are 10th.

But Maresca believes he has not been at the helm long enough for Chelsea to compete for silverware with the league’s most consistent teams in recent seasons.

“I really don’t think we can compete with City and Arsenal,” he said. “I really think that, because we are not ready.

“The reason why is — and I said many times — City is working with the same manager for nine years; Arsenal is working with the same manager for five years. If you want to compete for important things, you need that time.

“After Arsenal-PSG, they asked the same to Luis Enrique, and Luis Enrique said: ‘The difference between us and them is that Arsenal had the same manager for five years and we are a year-and-a-half.’ For me? Three months.

“So it is a huge difference. I’m really convinced that we cannot compete with that club. The target is to improve and slowly, slowly to go close to that club. We are not, in this moment, ready for that.”

Read more here!

Score prediction

11:59 , Alex Young

Forest are certain not to be open as Brighton were last weekend, and it is likely to be a tight contest throughout, with there only being 11 goals in the Reds’ six league games so far.

However, Chelsea, and Palmer in particular, are on a hot streak, and should have enough to come away with another three points that will keep them right amongst it at the top of the table.

Chelsea to win 2-1.

Nottigham Forest team news

11:52 , Alex Young

The big news for Nottingham Forest is the return of Morgan Gibbs-White to the side.

The England midfielder missed last weekend’s loss to Fulham following his red card against Brighton the week before.

Otherwise, there is no new injuries, with long-term absentees Danilo and Ibrahim Sangare still on the sidelines.

Chelsea team news

11:44 , Alex Young

Chelsea will welcome back Cole Palmer when Enzo Maresca recalls his big guns today.

The Blues made 11 changes for Thursday’s 4-2 Conference League win over Gent and the likes of Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo will all return at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Palmer scored four goals in last weekend’s 4-2 win over Brighton but got a rest in midweek after Chelsea left him out of their European squad.

Reece James remains sidelined with a hamstring issue but Maresca has no fresh injury concerns, though Carney Chukwuemeka missed the Gent win through illness.

Robert Sanchez will return in goal after Filip Jorgensen started on Thursday, while Malo Gusto, Wesley Fofana, Levi Colwill and Marc Cucurella will come back into defence.

Noni Madueke and Jadon Sancho are likely to flank Palmer in his No10 role behind Nicolas Jackson.

How to watch Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest

11:35 , Alex Young

Fans in the UK hoping to watch live coverage of Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest this afternoon will be left disappointed, with the game not being televised on these shores.

That is because it was originally supposed to take place at 3pm BST on Saturday afternoon, only to be moved to a 2pm Sunday slot as the result of Chelsea’s involvement in the Conference League proper on Thursday nights, confirmed after their play-off win over Swiss side Servette.

That initial kick-off time would have seen it fall during the Saturday 3pm TV blackout still imposed across English football, and under current rules that means it still cannot be shown live despite the move.

Highlights will also be available on Match of the Day 2, which is being screened at 10:30pm BST on Sunday night on BBC One.

Welcome

11:29 , Alex Young

Good morning and welcome to the Standard’s LIVE coverage of the Premier League clash between Chelsea and Nottingham Forest.

The Blues are sitting pretty in the top four after a quietly impressive season so far, though have lost their only game against a fellow Big Six side in Man City on the opening day.

Forest have also been plugging along well, losing just once all season and that came last time out against Fulham.

It’s all set up to be an intriguing encounter at Stamford Bridge. Kick-off is at 2pm.