Getty Chelsea and Nottingham Forest meet in the third round of the FA Cup.
Chelsea will host Nottingham Forest in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday.
In the United States, the match is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. ET. While it won’t be broadcast nationally on television anywhere in the US, you can still watch a live stream of the game on your computer, phone or streaming device via ESPN+, the new digital streaming service from ESPN that has exclusive coverage to dozens of sporting events every week, including every FA Cup match.
You can sign up for a free seven-day trial of ESPN+ right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the match on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the ESPN app.
If you can’t watch live, all games that are streamed on ESPN+ are also available to be watched afterwards on-demand via ESPN.com or the ESPN app.
Chelsea vs Nottingham Forest Preview
Chelsea failed to put one past 22-year-old Southampton goalkeeper Angus Gunn — who was making his Premier League debut — on Wednesday as the sides played to a draw at Stamford Bridge. The Blues sit in fourth place in the league standings with a 13-5-3 record, just three points ahead of Arsenal.
Chelsea dominated the ball, possessing it for 72 percent of the match.
“I think we played a very good match for 80 meters of the pitch, then we were in trouble in the last 20 meters,” manager Maurizio Sarri told BBC Sport, according to ESPN. “We created goal opportunities, not too much, but it’s not easy to create a lot of goal opportunities in this type of match, because they were very low.
“Of course if you’re able to score the first goal you’re able to create a lot of opportunities, because you can find spaces. We have to try to solve the problem of the last 15, 20 metres. In the last matches we were in full control of the match, everywhere against every team.
“For us it’s not easy at this moment to score the first goal. We have to solve this problem.”
Already without wingers Pedro Rodriguez and Callum Hudson-Odoi due to hamstring injuries, the Blues lost Willian in the first half on Wednesday.
“I think Willian’s injury is not really very serious,” Sarri said, per ESPN. “The report of the doctor is not serious, also for Pedro. I think Pedro in one week will be able to have training with teammates. Of course, in this match it was really very difficult for me because Pedro, [Olivier] Giroud, [Hudson-Odoi] was out.
“After 37 minutes Willian was out. On the bench, I had only one offensive player, but [Ruben Loftus-Cheek] has back trouble. For me, it was really very difficult to try to change the match in the last 30 minutes.”
Fortunately for Sarri, the team recently added another winger in Christian Pulisic. Unfortunately for Sarri, the transfer won’t take effect until next season.
“I didn’t know anything about [Chelsea signing] Christian Pulisic yesterday,” Sarri said, per ESPN. “The club asked my opinion about him one month ago and my opinion was positive and I knew the deal was done [today] but I didn’t know anything. I’m not in charge of the market.
“We have to play every three days so I cannot think of next year, I have to think about the next match.”
Nottingham Forest presently sit in seventh place in the English League Championship with a 9-12-5 mark. On Tuesday, they ended a five-match winless streak by erasing a 2-1 Leeds United lead for a 4-2 victory at home.
“The team deserved to win,” manager Altor Karanka said, according to BBC Sport. “It was unfair that we had been in the kind of run we had been, without a win. In the five games where we had not won, we had played well.
“This can be a turning point for the confidence of the players. The team spirit they showed was amazing.”