Chelsea and Nottingham Forest will go head-to-head in the Premier League in a bank holiday clash and ahead of that game we have picked out six classic moments from previous meetings for you to relive and pick your favourite.
We have already chosen a shortlist featuring six of our favourite moments from games against Nottingham Forest from across all competitions during the Premier League era, which includes one of the defining moments of last season.
Ahead of our next match against the Reds on Monday, enjoy the highlights of those six moments, read up on why they are so memorable and head over to the Chelsea Official App to cast your vote for your favourite.
Zola quick off the mark | September 1998
Nottingham Forest had only played four matches back in the top flight after promotion when they came to the Bridge, and Gianfranco Zola gave them a quick lesson on how tough the challenge can be in the Premier League. Very quick, in fact, as there were just 25 seconds on the clock when the Italian opened the scoring on our way to a 2-1 victory.
On our way to glory | January 2000
Chelsea won the third of our eight FA Cups in 2000, but we were challenged along the way by Forest. This game was almost a personal challenge for Zola, who had one brilliant chip cleared off the line before being flagged offside when tapping in a team-mate's already goal-bound effort. He made amends when we regrouped in the second half, setting up Frank Leboeuf’s opening goal as we won 2-0 and progressed to the fifth round.
Michy makes it five | September 2017
Chelsea’s 2017/18 Carabao Cup campaign kicked off against Forest at Stamford Bridge with an emphatic 5-1 win on Willy Caballero’s debut. However, it was Michy Batshuayi who starred. The striker only gave us glimpses of his potential with the Blues, but when he did it tended to be memorable. This wasn’t quite up there with his title-winning goal at West Bromwich Albion, but his first – and only – Chelsea hat-trick was a high point.
Signing off in style | January 2019
Spanish duo Alvaro Morata and Cesc Fabregas were both playing their last game for Chelsea when we hosted Nottingham Forest in the 2018/19 FA Cup third round. The latter wore the captain’s armband on his 500th match in English football, but also had a penalty saved. That left it for Morata to save the day on his farewell appearance, scoring twice in the second half for a 2-0 Blues win.
Leaving it late | May 2024
There were three games left in the Premier League season when Chelsea travelled to the City Ground in 2023/24 with both sides desperate for the points, Forest in a bid to avoid relegation and the Blues in the race for Europe. We took an early lead but were trailing heading into the last 10 minutes, before Raheem Sterling curled into the bottom corner. Two minutes later, a peach of a Reece James cross allowed Nicolas Jackson to head in and give us a dramatic 3-2 victory.
Back where we belong | May 2025
The City Ground hosted our last Premier League game of last season, and what a day it was. Effectively a head-to-head contest in the race for UEFA Champions League qualification, a tense match was decided shortly after half time when Levi Colwill turned in Pedro Neto’s pass for the only goal of the game. Cue wild celebrations in the away end, Chelsea were back in the Champions League.