Nottinghamshire

Ryan Yates spoke to BBC Radio 5 Live after Nottingham Forest's defeast against Chelsea: "I'll be honest. Ange came in after the game, debriefed the game and then I went out to do some running, I came back and news had broke that he had gone.

"Everybody has to take responsibility. I think it would be unfair to pin it on anybody. We have to look ourselves in the mirror and dust ourselves down and go again because things in football can change really quickly. That's what we are going to be thinking about."

On if he is saying that the players are to blame: "No, I'm not saying that. I'm saying partly we are to blame because we are the guys going out on to the pitch and trying to get results. As I just said things in football can change very quickly, with a good result on Thursday night we can get that good feeling back and we kick in."

On what he would say if the manager could hear him in that moment: "I've got nothing to say right now."

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Forest's performance

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Under-fire Ange Postecoglou makes five changes as he searches for his first win as Nottingham Forest boss.

Taiwo Awoniyi makes his first appearance since being put in an induced coma in May, following urgent abdominal surgery after a collision with the post during last season's game with Leicester.

Murillo, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Douglas Luiz, and Ibrahim Sangare return from the 2-0 defeat at Newcastle while striker Chris Wood is on the bench having picked up a minor knee issue with New Zealand.

Nottingham Forest XI: Sels, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato, Williams, Douglas Luiz, Sangare, Anderson, Zinchenko, Gibbs-White, Awoniyi.

Substitutes: John, Hudson-Odoi, Wood, Ndoye, Domínguez, I. Jesus, Yates, Jair Cunha, Savona.

Trevoh Chalobah, Andrey Santos and Romeo Lavia come in for Chelsea at the City Ground.

Defender Chalobah returns after suspension while Lavia makes his first start of the season with Santo making just his second.

Benoit Badiashile, Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo drop out, although Caicedo is the only one to make the bench.

Chelsea XI: Sanchez, James, Acheampong, Chalobah, Cucurella, Gusto, Lavia, Neto, Andrey Santos, Garnacho, Joao Pedro.

Substitutes: Jorgensen, Tosin, Hato, Caicedo, Gittens, George, Guiu, Estevao, Buonanotte.

There are seven games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Nottingham Forest v Chelsea (12:30)

• Brighton v Newcastle

• Burnley v Leeds United

• Crystal Palace v Bournemouth

• Man City v Everton - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Sunderland v Wolves - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Fulham v Arsenal (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times 15:00 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Fulham v Arsenal", for instance.

Find out more about how to listen to Premier League football on BBC Sounds

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport journalist

Nottingham Forest resume Premier League proceedings aiming for a first win at the eighth attempt under Ange Postecoglou against a Chelsea side who defeated champions Liverpool last time out.

BBC Sport examines some of the key themes ahead of Saturday's lunchtime clash at the City Ground.

Postecoglou's poor start

Five defeats, two draws and 15 goals conceded is not the start Ange Postecoglou may have envisaged when replacing Nuno Espirito Santo as Nottingham Forest boss.

The Australian has barely been in the job a month but is already facing question marks over his future, with reports last weekend suggesting former Everton manager Sean Dyche is waiting in the wings should Forest's poor form continue.

Postecoglou has now lost 30 of his past 49 Premier League games with former club Tottenham and Forest, a recent record that may not help dissuade his detractors.

However, Forest's problems, particularly in defence, predate Postecoglou's arrival: they haven't kept a clean sheet in any of their past 15 Premier League games, their joint-longest run since returning to the competition in 2022.

And the task for Forest's manager does not get any easier. Next up, its Chelsea and Postecoglou has lost all four Premier League meetings against the Blues.

Chelsea aim to back up Liverpool win

Chelsea counterpart Enzo Maresca had been under some pressure following back to back defeats to Manchester United and Bayern Munich, although a 2-1 victory against Liverpool ahead of the international break has assuaged some of the unease at Stamford Bridge.

Willian Estevao's stoppage-time goal knocked Liverpool off top spot in the Premier League and he is one of several key players whom Maresca will rely on as injuries continue to take their toll on Chelsea's squad.

Maresca could be missing up to nine players for the trip to the City Ground, including Cole Palmer, who has been ruled out for another six weeks due to an ongoing groin injury.

In the absence of other star names, Chelsea's key performer so far this season has undoubtedly been Moises Caicedo.

The combative Ecuador international has been one of the most effective midfielders in the Premier League this season, making more tackles and more interceptions than any player so far.

On Saturday he will face another in-form midfielder in the guise of Forest's Elliot Anderson, who again impressed on international duty with England in the World Cup qualifying win against Latvia on Tuesday night.

The 22-year-old has won back possession a league-high 55 times this season and his battle with Caicedo could go a long way to deciding the outcome of a crucial match for Forest's manager.

The treatment that Ange Postecoglou is getting from Nottingham Forest fans is just ridiculous.

It saddens me, actually, that they are calling for him to be sacked after just seven games - and I don't think it's fair at all.

I covered Forest's defeat at Newcastle before the international break. That was the result I expected, and Newcastle thoroughly deserved to win too, but it still showed all this talk of how Ange can only play one way is wrong, because Forest were not open at all at St James' Park - they tried to contain Newcastle and played on the counter.

The problem they had was that they could not get up the pitch, but if you were a Forest fan watching that game then you would be thinking that Ange did try and play with a bit of balance.

Now they are at home, the onus will be on them to go forward more against Chelsea, whose manager Enzo Maresca has also come under pressure this season.

Chelsea's late victory over Liverpool last time out was important for Maresca after back-to-back league defeats.

In many ways I hope Forest win, to take the heat off Postecoglou a little, but I don't see it happening.

Sutton's prediction: 1-2

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

Ange Postecoglou dismissed any suggestions he should be concerned about his role with others under consideration to replace him at Nottingham Forest.

The 60-year-old is under pressure after seven winless games to start his reign as Forest boss going into Saturday's visit of Chelsea.

Sean Dyche has been considered as a replacement while Forest have been long-time admirers of Fulham's Marco Silva, who managed Olympiacos under Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis.

"I don't need reassurance. I'm in a no-win situation," said Postecoglou, with Forest 17th in the Premier League.

"So if you [the media] write about me getting replaced and naming replacements, either it's pure fabrication and lies the club is looking to move me on and talking to other candidates for my role, or there is some truth in it.

"Either way, what can I do about it? I'm not going to go suing a newspaper or the media and I'm not going to go to the owner because who knows what the truth is and I don't care.

"If people have made up their minds internally or externally after five weeks...

"OK, well, what am I supposed to do about that? It depends on the prism you look at.

"What I consistently say and I was mocked and ridiculed for it last year is: if you let the story play out, I'll tell you how it finishes, but I don't hold that decision in my hands."

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Ange Postecoglou is not the most expressive of managers, his tone of voice rarely changes, but there is always honesty.

That may have counted against him in his career - and it still may do at Nottingham Forest - but you cannot deny Postecoglou will always make his feelings known.

That's what he did with his five-minute and five seconds monologue in his pre-match press conference at the City Ground on Friday.

As expected he came out fighting, defending his record at Tottenham and how he changed them from 'Spursy' to becoming winners with their Europa League victory.

He argued his first season there, finishing fifth in the Premier League, has been airburshed with the focus on last term's 17th place to highlight he was a bad manager.

The reality, he said, could be that winning the Europa League proves if given time he will win trophies.

That is what he was brought to Forest for but so far Forest have already assessed their options during the international break and Saturday's visit of Chelsea appears vital to his future.

Seven winless games to open his reign since replacing Nuno Espirito Santo last month, Postecoglou has no room for error at the City Ground.

The last home game saw fans turn and chant "you're getting sacked in the morning" during the Europa League defeat to Midtjylland and words will not appease the Forest supporters who have already turned.

Katie Stafford
BBC Sport journalist

Nottingham Forest boss Ange Postecoglou has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Chelsea at the City Ground (kick-off 12:30 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Those who played for their national teams have "all come back in good condition and are ready to play".

• He confirmed he had no meeting with owner Evangelos Marinakis over the break and added: "We are just getting on with it."

• On needing to turn results around: "It's always important to win the next game, irrespective of what's happened previously. We're facing a very good opponent and we're at home, which is the good thing."

• In response to pressure being on him: "I just don't fit. Not here, but just in general. If you look at it through the prism that I'm a failed manager who is lucky to get this job – I know you are smirking at me but that has been said and I can find the print [that says it] – then, of course, these five weeks look like I'm under pressure."

• He went on to say: "There is of course an alternative story you can look at. I came here to the Premier League two years ago and took over Tottenham. 'Spursy' Tottenham. I was told by the chairman at the time this club has to win a trophy. We win a trophy, we shed the tag of being Spursy and it's Champions League football. But all I've heard since is that we finished 17th and I'm a failed manager who is lucky to get another opportunity."

• More on his previous achievements: "Maybe I'm a manager where, when given time, the story ends the same - that's with me and a trophy."

• He acknowledged "there's been a major change" at Forest, but he is still "excited" by the job because "the players are willing to change" and there is "fresh young talent" in the squad.

• Postecoglou concluded: "Some will look at the weeds - I will look at what's growing."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Sami Mokbel
Senior football correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

It is understood the process of identifying replacements in the event of Ange Postecoglou's sacking are under way, and developed during the international break.

Of course, it makes common sense for all clubs to have contingency plans in place for every scenario.

On Forest's radar is Fulham head coach Marco Silva, with sources indicating that the Portuguese is the preferred option of a number of internal figures at the City Ground.

But Silva is under contract at Craven Cottage, with sources informing BBC Sport that the 48-year-old has a "significant" release clause in his contract.

Sources have told BBC Sport that the prospect of re-appointing Steve Cooper, who led Forest back to the top flight in 2022 before being sacked and replaced by Nuno in December 2023, has been considered.

But Cooper was recently appointed head coach of Danish club Brondby.

Another option explored, as reported by BBC Sport last week, is the appointment of Sean Dyche.

Dyche lives close to Nottingham and is available for nothing, having left Everton earlier this year.

However, whether Forest and Dyche would be able to reach an agreement on terms should the club formalise their interest in the manager remains to be seen.

Read more from Sami here