Chelsea v Nottingham Forest LIVE: Result and final score after Blues frustrated by 10-man visitors

Chelsea are improving but the London side are not yet ready to compete with top Premier League clubs like Manchester City and Arsenal, manager Enzo Maresca said on Friday.

Chelsea, who finished sixth last season to miss out on the Champions League and 12th in 2022-23, are fourth in the table with 13 points from six games.

Maresca replaced Mauricio Pochettino in June and was tasked with returning Chelsea to the Champions League which they last won in 2021.

“I don’t think we can compete with City and Arsenal. City have worked with the same manager for (nearly) nine years, Arsenal for five years,” Maresca said ahead of Sunday’s game against Nottingham Forest.

“If you want to compete, you need that time. It’s a huge difference. I am convinced we cannot compete. The target is to improve and to get close slowly. We are not at this moment ready for that.

“You can continue to improve but at the end, the more time you are together, the better it is.”

Fans are descending on Stamford Bridge, less than an hour before kick-off:

As expected, Maresca keeps the same XI who thrashed Brighton at Stamford Bridge last weekend, with Pedro Neto, Joao Felix and Christopher Nkunku all on the bench.

Morgan Gibbs-White returns for Forest after a one-match suspension.

Sels; Aina, Murillo, Milenkovic, Moreno; Yates (C), Anderson, Ward-Prowse, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood.

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

Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Enzo (C); Madueke, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson.

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

Confirmed line-ups and full team news in a couple of minutes...

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Enzo Maresca will likely revert to his first choice starting XI hvaing made a whole heap of changes for the Blues’ Europa Conference League fixture last Thursday. Wesley Fofana and Cole Palmer are expected to return with Robert Sanchez restored in goal.

Reece James and youngster Omari Kellyman are the only two players unavailable so there are no new injury concerns and after resting the main players in midweek Chelsea should have a fresh set of legs for Sunday.

For Nottingham Forest, Danilo and Ibrahim Sangare are still long-term absentees and won’t be available. Morgan Gibbs-White will return to the squad despite fears that he may have to miss two games due to his red card against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Willy Boly was an unused sub after recovering from a calf problem and could come into the starting XI.

Chelsea face Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge this afternoon is a Premier League clash that could see Enzo Maresca’s side shoot up the table.

The Blues started the weekend fourth in the table after five consecutive wins across all competitions. They have beaten Bournemouth, West Ham and Brighton in their last three league games scoring eight goals and looking like a team confident in the final third.

Nottingham Forest, meanwhile, have stumbled slightly since an impressive win over Liverpool at Anfield. They were held to a 2-2 draw with Brighton before Raul Jimenez gave Fulham a 1-0 win over them with a second half penalty last time out.

Manager Nuno Espirito Santo has made his team difficult to score against with Forest particularly effective away from home this year menaing they could cause a few problems for Chelsea.

Follow all the action from the Premier League match between Chelsea and Nottingham Forest right here.