Paul Merson is backing Nottingham Forest to stay in the Premier League at the end of the season, despite predicting them to fall to defeat against Chelsea this weekend.
Forest go into the game at Stamford Bridge three points clear of Leicester City in 18th place in the table following Monday night’s rollercoaster 4-3 win over Southampton at the City Ground. Any points against Chelsea would mean that Steve Cooper ’s side will end the weekend outside of the bottom three.
Chelsea ended a six game losing run last weekend by coming out as 3-1 winners over Bournemouth. The Blues currently sit in 11th place in the table and under the guidance of interim coach Frank Lampard following the sacking of Graham Potter at the start of last month.
READ NEXT: Aurier, Scarpa, Dennis - Nottingham Forest injury update provided ahead of Chelsea showdown
READ NEXT: Nottingham Forest face Morgan Gibbs-White payout as 'extra incentives' emerge
The reverse fixture at the City Ground back in January ended in a 1-1 draw. Serge Aurier scored the equalising goal in the second half after Raheem Sterling opened the scoring in the first.
Despite the difficult season for Chelsea, Merson believes that they will come out victorious against Cooper’s side.
“Nottingham Forest did very well against Southampton under pressure. But I think this is a game where Nottingham Forest are going to struggle to eke out a positive result,” he told SportsKeeda .
“Chelsea haven’t been at their best but I don’t see how Forest are going to get the better of them.”
The pundit has though predicted that Forest will avoid the drop at the end of the season, as he has named his bottom three to go down. Southampton, Leeds and Leicester are the current bottom three with Everton and Forest just above the drop zone.
“Forest might already be safe and might have enough points to survive the drop. I think Leicester, Leeds United and Southampton are destined for relegation.”
Paul Merson’s prediction: Chelsea 3-0 Nottingham Forest
What are your predictions for the clash vs Chelsea? Tell us in the comments section
READ NEXT:
- Six Nottingham Forest players heading for permanent exit in big summer transfer window
- Battling Nottingham Forest given Chelsea and Arsenal points target
- Nottingham Forest's survival bid predicted in Everton and Leeds battle
- Nottingham Forest 2023/24 start date and fixture release confirmed
- The latest Nottingham Forest news in one place
