Nottingham Forest can set a new club record when they play Chelsea in the Premier League on Sunday.
Nuno Espirito Santo's side square off against the Blues trailing their next opponents by just one point in the table as they look to earn Champions League qualification.
Only a win will do for the East Midlands outfit if they want to have a chance of achieving that target, while Chelsea also need to prevail at the City Ground to guarantee a top-five finish.
Although Forest have already earned a return to continental football for the first time in nearly three decades, they are looking to participate in the Champions League for the first time in their history.
If they are to remain in contention for that feat, Forest will need to set a new club record in the process.
© Imago
What record can Forest set?
For the first time in their history, Forest are on the brink of winning 20 Premier League fixtures in a single season having emerged victorious in 19 of their 37 games.
Nuno's players will back themselves to put themselves in a strong position to do so having opened the scoring in 25 games this season, a division high with Liverpool and Arsenal.
Furthermore, goalkeeper Matz Sels is looking for the clean sheet that would guarantee at least a share of the golden glove having already kept 13 clean sheets this season, level with Arsenal's David Raya.
That is despite Forest conceding 12 more goals than the Gunners across the campaign, while they also possess just the sixth-best defensive record in the division.
© Imago
Chelsea hoping to extend historical run
While many of the statistics ahead of the weekend are in Forest's favour, they have not defeated Chelsea at the City Ground since 1997.
That said, it should be noted that three such fixtures have taken place during that period, and there have been three draws in the five league fixtures since Forest earned promotion in 2022.
Chelsea have prevailed in just one of their last 10 away matches in the Premier League, that being a dramatic 2-1 comeback triumph at neighbours Fulham on April 20.
The West Londoners have also failed to win on the final weekend of the season the last three times where they have played away from Stamford Bridge.
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Darren Plant
