Cesar Azpilicueta returns to the side in place of Reece James for a record-breaking appearance.
Nottingham Forest vs Chelsea lineups
Graham Potter has made one change to the side which beat Bournemouth 2-0 in our final match of last year as we begin 2023 away at Nottingham Forest.
That is forced upon our head coach by the injury setback suffered by Reece James in that previous match, with Cesar Azpilicueta coming in to captain the side in his absence. It will be the Spaniard’s 495th game for Chelsea, putting him clear of Petr Cech’s total as our highest overseas appearance maker of all time.
The defence is otherwise unchanged, meaning Marc Cucurella continues on the left while Thiago Silva and Kalidou Koulibaly are in the middle, ahead of goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga. The midfield trio also keep their places, with Denis Zakaria continuing beside Jorginho and Mason Mount.
There are no changes in attack either, where Christian Pulisic, Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz remain. Mateo Kovacic and Hakim Ziyech are both named among the substitutes for the first time since helping their countries reach the World Cup semi-finals, having been rested against Bournemouth.
Forest manager Steve Copper has made two changes to the side which were beaten 3-0 by Manchester United last time out, with goalkeeper Dean Henderson returning and Morgan Gibbs-White replacing Jesse Lingard in the front three.
Chelsea: Kepa, Azpilicueta (c), Thiago Silva, Koulibaly, Cucurella, Zakaria, Jorginho, Mount, Sterling, Havertz, Pulisic
Substitutes: Bettinelli, Hall, Chalobah, Chukwuemeka, Gallagher, Kovacic, Hutchinson, Ziyech, Aubameyang
Nottingham Forest: Henderson, Aurier, Worrall (c), Boly, Lodi, Mangala, Freuler, Yates, Johnson, Awoniyi, Gibbs-White
Substitutes: Hennessey, Toffolo, Williams, Cook, McKenna, Colback, O’Brien, Dennis, Surridge
Referee: Peter Bankes