Chelsea line-ups for Nottingham Forest as Garnacho agreement reached and Colwill returns

Our Chelsea reporters choose their starting line-ups for Monday afternoon’s Premier League clash between the Blues and Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea are looking for their first Premier League victory in exactly two months on Monday afternoon as they welcome relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest to Stamford Bridge.

The Blues have not recorded a victory in the top-flight since beating Aston Villa 4-1 at Villa Park on March 4. You would have to go back to late-January for Chelsea’s last home victory in the Premier League – the 3-2 win over West Ham United.

Following last weekend’s FA Cup semi-final win over Leeds United, Calum McFarlane has at the very least transformed the mood around Cobham over the last week. Winning against Forest on Monday would help with that even more.

And, with that being said, football.london‘s Chelsea writers Bobby Vincent and Jake Stokes discuss and debate the XIs they would choose if they were in the interim head coach’s shoes on Monday.

Bobby Vincent

Robert Sanchez was excellent last weekend. Even if he wasn’t, there would be no doubt over the Spanish goalkeeper’s place in the side but that should do his confidence the world of good between now and the end of the season.

Reece James could return to the squad but I would not have near the starting line-up just yet. He could be used from the bench but Malo Gusto should start at right-back, with Trevoh Chalobah, Jorrel Hato and Marc Cucurella the other defenders. Levi Colwill could be on the bench after nine months out, but he won’t start this one.

Andrey Santos should come in for Romeo Lavia, with Moises Caicedo the other deep-lying midfielder for Chelsea. Enzo Fernandez should be playing in a more advanced role as he looks to build on last weekend’s heroics at Wembley Stadium.

Cole Palmer to return to the side on the right wing, with Pedro Neto on the other side in place of Alejandro Garnacho, who deserves to be dropped. Joao Pedro was exceptional a week ago and should keep his place as the sole No.9.

Bobby’s XI: Sanchez; Gusto, Chalobah, Hato, Cucurella; Santos, Caicedo; Palmer, Fernandez, Neto; joao pedro

Jake Stokes

McFarlane only needs to make two changes to the side that faced Leeds in the FA Cup semi-final. Although Chelsea weren’t necessarily back to their very best, they were much improved and showed great promise after what was a difficult spell under Liam Rosenior. Sanchez should remain between the sticks. The 28-year-old goalkeeper made a few good saves at Wembley last weekend, proving he can become a key player for the Blues again – just as he was under Enzo Maresca not too long ago. At the back, Hato should return to the backline, replacing Tosin Adarabioyo at centre-half. The latter did well against Daniel Farke’s side, nullifying Dominic Calvert-Lewin, but the former has been in much better form and deserves to pick up from where he left off. In the middle of the park, Caicedo and Lavia should remain in the pivot, with Fernandez taking up a slightly more advanced role. On the right, Palmer needs to start, leaving a place on the left up for grabs. Garnacho struggled again last weekend, so Neto should shift across to the left. And it goes without saying that Joao Pedro leads the frontline. If Chelsea stand any chance of qualifying for either of UEFA’s three club competitions this season, he and Palmer need to play together as much as possible. Jake’s XI: Sanchez; Gusto, Chalobah, Hato, Cucurella; Caicedo, Lavia; Palmer, Fernandez, Neto; João Pedro.