Nottingham Forest will be looking for their first FA Cup victory over Chelsea ever when they travel to Stamford Bridge tomorrow.
Forest have beaten Chelsea just once in their last 10 meetings, with their last win over them coming in the Premier League back in 1997.
Their last match saw the Tricky Trees crash to a 5-1 defeat in last season’s Carabao Cup, with Michy Batshuayi netting a hat-trick.
Ahead of the two teams’ first outing in the FA Cup this season, here is who the Chelsea Presser selected in their Chelsea and Forest combined team, using average match ratings courtesy of WhoScored.com from this season’s Premier League and Sky Bet Championship.
Formation: 5-2-3
Goalkeeper: Costel Pantilimon (Nottingham Forest) 6.71
Romanian goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon has had plenty of experience against Premier League opposition having played in the top-flight for five years.
In 26 appearances in the Championship so far this season, the six-foot and seven-inch giant has kept ten clean sheets.
Right-back: Tendayi Darikwa (Nottingham Forest) 7.02
Tendayi Darikwa has been known to play at right-back or in midfield. His versatility in these roles has been vital to Forest this season as they look challenge one of England’s most successful teams.
The Zimbabwe international has made an average of two interceptions and 1.7 successful tackles in his 20 league matches.
Centre-back: Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea) 7.03
There has rarely been a time where Chelsea mainstay Cesar Azpilicueta hasn’t made an edition of our stats-based teams this season, and this time is no different.
His versatility in defence bodes well with his performances. The Spaniard has made an average of 2.8 tackles and one interception per game in the league this term.
Centre-back: David Luiz (Chelsea) 7.24
David Luiz has made his new role in Maurizio Sarri’s back four look fairly easy.
The Brazilian has adapted to the new system and loves playing from the back. He has made 1423 accurate passes in 1800 minutes of league football this season.
Left-back: Marcos Alonso (Chelsea) 7.14
Spanish full-back Marcos Alonso is slowly getting used to playing in a back four, however, it’s clear to see that his strengths as part of a back five are what made him one of the best in his position.
It isn’t often that a full-back takes a shot on goal, but Alonso grasps the chance when he’s found in the final third. He has attempted 31 shots on goal in 21 league appearances this season.
Defensive-midfield: Adlene Guedioura (Nottingham Forest) 7.07
Algerian midfielder Adlene Guedioura seems to love being at Forest, seeing as though this is his second spell at the Championship club.
The centre-midfielder has attempted an impressive 804 passes in 17 matches, with 601 of them being successful.
Defensive-midfield: N’Golo Kante (Chelsea) 7.02
Chelsea’s non-stop engine that is N’Golo Kante has been the driving force in the heart of the Blues ever since his arrival in the summer of 2016.
Adding a more creative style to his game this season, the Frenchman has tried a total of 1215 short and long passes combined in 21 games, with an accuracy of 88.3%.
Right-midfield: Pedro (Chelsea) 7.05
This stats-based team, which has been dominated by Chelsea players has concluded with Pedro. Despite the Spaniard currently being injured, it would have been impossible to leave the ever-present winger out of this team.
The 31-year-old’s relentlessness is still surprising people. In 17 league appearances, he has conjured up six important goals, whilst making a total of 31 attempted dribbles.
Attacking-midfield: Joe Lolley (Nottingham Forest) 7.32
Another player that is relishing being at Forest is Joe Lolley, who expressed his happiness in the East Midlands during a recent tweet.
https://twitter.com/JLolley23/status/1079772563763548160
This would have been music to the supporters’ ears as he has been pivotal to his side this season. In attacking-midfield, Lolley has scored six goals and has attempted 674 passes in 26 league appearances this season.
Left-midfield: Willian (Chelsea) 7.14
Despite his recent critics, Willian has shown once again why he is a preferred choice in Sarri’s powerful front-three.
With his pace and agility, it comes to no surprise that he likes to have the ball whenever possible. Willian has attempted an average of 2.2 dribbles per game, with 1.6 of them being successful.
Striker: Eden Hazard (Chelsea) 7.89
Eden Hazard has continued to shine in a somewhat stalling blues side. The Belgian wizard is proving that life without him would be difficult at Stamford Bridge.
With an unbelievable rate of 95 attempted dribbles in 20 appearances, it is clear to see that Hazard is the first port of call in any of Chelsea’s attacks.
By Darion Westwood
