Steve Cooper hopes that the first day of 2023 will bring him and his charges good luck. The first match this week ended with a 0:3 loss to Manchester United, which was already the ninth in a row in the current championship of the elite division of England. However, the Welshman said he wants to see “more faith” in him and his team in this difficult test with a member of the Premier League’s elite. All hope for the support of the stands at their own stadium, since Nottingham Forest got 11 out of 13 points at the City Ground. In addition, in the last four home duels, “dexterous trees” did not lose. For 16 rounds the hosts have three victories and four peaceful outcomes, which correspond to 13 points and 19th position in the standings. It is impossible not to note the second worst indicator of the team in the attack, which differed only 11 times. In the infirmary of the team are Lingrad, Gibbs-White, Richards, Niahate, Kouyate and Biancone, who has a knee injury.
Today’s hosts’ 22 goal gap could be worsened by the English capital as Chelsea returned to the Premier League in style after a huge World Cup break in Qatar, ending a five-match winless streak with a comfortable 2:0 win over Bournemouth. Here it is impossible not to sum up the intermediate result of the team’s entries. The Blues won the group stage in the Champions League, where they were ahead of Milan and Salzburg, while they have already completed their performances in the English League Cup, where they flew out at the 1/16 final stage after a fiasco with Man City (0:2). After a series of unsuccessful games, Graham Potter described the attitude of his players as “fantastic” as they rediscovered the winning formula. For 15 rounds the “pensioners” got seven victories and three draws, which led the team to eighth place, which is unlikely to meet the ambitions of the management and fans of the club with such a reputation. Moreover, 19 goals scored in half a season looks sad. Ziyech, Chilwell, Kante, James, Fofana, Loftus-Cheek, Kovacici and Broja, who has a knee injury, will not be able to play today.
