Chelsea are growing increasingly confident that they will secure European football for next season after beating Manchester United, Tottenham, West Ham and Everton recently. Impressively they have lost only one in their last 17 games.
They have not lost at Stamford Bridge since February with Pochettino’s team having kept back-to-back clean sheets in the Premier League lately. Christopher Nkunku made his long-awaited return against West Ham and the French forward will now hope to get going in what has been a disappointing first campaign in west London.
Levi Colwill was also back in the team against West Ham even though he did not get to come off the bench so this weekend will be one he’ll be looking to make his long-awaited return.
Despite what has been an incredibly positive week, Chelsea are still likely to be without at least eight players for the visit to the City Ground this weekend. There is pressure on Pochettino to get the team to Europe as the board will have a review of the entire season in the summer.
Nottingham Forest know they will secure Premier League survival for another season if they can take all three points against Chelsea, so this promises to be a tightly contested game.
Chelsea have worked hard to get into a position where they are applying pressure on Newcastle United and Tottenham so Pochettino will hope his players stay fit at the tail end of the campaign.
So with that in mind, here is the list of injured players and when they’re likely to return from injury.
1. Romeo Lavia
Won't play again this season. Will return in the summer.
2. Wesley Fofana
Has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury. Expected back in the summer.
3. Reece James
He's back in training on the field at Cobham but still no clarity on when he'll return. Sources say he's determined to play at the Euros.
4. Lesley Ugochukwu
Suffered a thigh injury and it's not clear when he'll return.