What seemed like a routine 3-0 victory for Chelsea on Saturday was anything but – not that the harsh context of Nottingham Forest’s latest defeat was enough to save Ange Postecoglou.

We’ve already reflected on the Aussie’s sacking, so now we turn to more talking points from the Gameweek 8 curtain-raiser at the City Ground.

• READ MORE: FPL Gameweek 8: Saturday’s goals, assists, bonus + ‘DefCon’ points
• READ MORE: FPL notes: £4.5m forward brace, 11-shot Mateta + Evanilson injury
• READ MORE: Postecoglou sacked + next Forest manager odds

ENZO + CAICEDO LATEST

The Blues served up a disjointed performance in the first half, a sloppy display that was a pretty good advert for Moises Caicedo (£5.8m) and Enzo Fernandez (£6.7m).

Andrey Santos (£4.5m), Romeo Lavia (£4.9m) and Alejandro Garnacho (£6.4m) failed to grasp their chances, all of them hooked at half-time.

Caicedo came off the bench at the interval to help steady the ship but Enzo was absent entirely, and there are no guarantees that he’ll be back for the midweek UEFA Champions League clash with Ajax. Chelsea’s Gameweek 9 fixture against Sunderland follows less than 72 hours after that.

“Enzo had small problem. A small problem that at the moment we are not able to say if he can be available for Ajax or not.” – Enzo Maresca

As for Caicedo, a fortnight without international football clearly wasn’t enough to cure whatever’s ailing him.

“Romeo’s plan was 45 minutes. Moi [Caicedo] cannot play 90 minutes, so the decision was to start with Moi or start with Romeo. And Romeo needs confidence, he needs a boost, he needs to start the game. So that was the plan.” – Enzo Maresca

MARESCA PRAISE FOR £4.3M GUIU – NOW, WILL HE START?

Also thrown on alongside Caicedo at half-time was Marc Guiu (£4.3m). The once-great hope from the budget forward pool has endured a frustrating start to the season, failing to contribute much at Sunderland before his loan spell was cut short. Back at Chelsea, he’s struggled for minutes.

A bright cameo in Gameweek 7 preceded this 45-minute run-out, his longest appearance of 2025/26 so far.

And he was excellent, too. Giving Chelsea a focal point up front, he won the free-kick that Pedro Neto (£7.0m) scored – via a lay-off to deprive Guiu of an assist – to put the Blues 2-0 up. Guiu’s near-post dart also freed up space for Josh Acheampong (£3.9m) to nod in the opener from Neto’s cross.

Running the channels, holding up play, registering three shots and just generally annoying his markers, he also brought the best out of Joao Pedro (£7.6m), who looked far more effective as a ’10’ behind him.

“I think he [Guiu] was on for 15 minutes against Liverpool, fighting with van Dijk, Konate, Gravenberch, and he was very good. Today, after one minute of the second half, he won a corner against Morato. So we need that from Marc.” – Enzo Maresca

So, what chance of a Guiu start going forward? There were interesting quotes from Maresca after full-time:

“We planned the game expecting them back four, not back five. I think back four with Joao Pedro as a No.9 is better. With back five, Joao Pedro at No.9 is not… If you remember, West Ham away; back five, we played Liam Delap and Joao Pedro against a back five. So we expected them back four, but they were back five. And then after half-time, we changed.” – Enzo Maresca

Unfortunately, a look at the upcoming fixtures (we’ve stopped at Gameweek 12 as Liam Delap (£6.2m) may be back at that point) doesn’t bode well. Two sides that have chiefly used a back four this season, and two sides that have moved away from a wing-back system recently:

The above managers could decide to revert to a back five for a tougher test against Chelsea, of course.

It’s not just Guiu owners but also those who have selected Pedro who will be hoping the striker starts.

Pedro’s only shot of the game came after Guiu was on. Even the big chance that Pedro created for Santos in the first half, before the £4.3m forward was introduced, also stemmed from the Brazilian striker dropping deeper. A line-leader, he’s not.

DEFENDER HAULS

Chelsea secured their third clean sheet of 2025/26 but they owed a lot to luck and profligate Forest finishing, gifting their hosts chance after chance in the first half.

Above: Forest’s missed chances by xG (the bigger the circle, the better the chance)

Marc Cucurella (£6.1m) banked defensive contribution (DefCon) points for the first time this season, while Acheampong and Reece James (£5.4m) secured double-digit hauls. It was James who rolled the ball to Neto for the latter’s goal, and the defender was on the scoresheet himself later in the game when volleying in a loose set piece.

All three Chelsea goals came from set plays.

Acheampong being available at £3.9m is eye-catching but Wesley Fofana (£4.4m) was rested for this game and Tosin Adarabioyo (£4.4m) was back from injury as a substitute, so we can’t guarantee minutes for the budget defender yet. Trevoh Chalobah (£5.1m), by contrast, has started every Premier League match he’s been available for this season.

“We need balance for Josh, because he’s obviously 19 and still developing, but he needs minutes to develop even more.” – Enzo Maresca

As for James, Maresca reckons he’s now fit enough to start three games a week – cue the injury…

“Now Reece is playing three games a week, he’s playing almost every game, he’s fit, he’s good. And we need to try to do exactly the same with Wes and with Romeo. I would love to have inside the pitch every game Romeo, Wes and Reece. But it’s not possible. It’s not possible, we need to manage them. And the main target this season is try to rotate and keep all of them fit.” – Enzo Maresca

James’ main positional rival, Malo Gusto (£4.9m), now has to serve a ban in Gameweek 9 after a late red card. Gusto was once again operating in midfield on Saturday.

BACK TO THE DRAWING BOARD FOR FOREST

So, then, no post-match Forest manager quotes for us to get our teeth into – not that it would have mattered anyway, as a new man will now come in with his own ideas over system and personnel.

There’s clearly a very good team lying dormant in there, as we saw last season.

Postecoglou can curse his luck, too: Forest wasted a hatful of chances, with Morgan Gibbs-White (£7.4m) twice firing wide in the first half, Neco Williams (£4.8m) blazing over from close range in the second half and substitute Igor Jesus (£5.8m) contriving to hit both bar and post with the same shot. When your luck’s out, your luck’s out.

The now ex-Forest boss curiously started with Taiwo Awoniyi (£5.2m) up front for this match, with Jesus and Chris Wood (£7.3m) benched. Awoniyi hadn’t even been in the previous six matchday squads, let alone the XI.

It matters little now, as it’s a clean slate under whoever becomes Forest’s third boss of 2025/26.