Chelsea's season has slumped beyond mediocrity, and as the prestigious west London outfit welcome Nottingham Forest to Stamford Bridge, pride is the only thing to play for.

Out of both domestic cup competitions in the early phases at the hands of Manchester City, defeated in the Champions League quarter-finals against record-holders Real Madrid, mired in the pit of mid-table in the Premier League; the Blues need to recoup and devise a plan to ensure this season's mistakes do not seep into the next.

Languishing in 11th with four matches to play and mathematically unable to qualify for any of the three European competitions up for grabs, interim manager Frank Lampard – Chelsea's fourth to take the dugout of the season – will be hoping to cultivate confidence before the end of the campaign and clinch successive victories with a triumph over Steve Cooper's Forest.

The Blues dispatched Bournemouth 3-1 on the south coast last time out, and must now navigate towards a late-season purple patch to provide a foundation from which to build upon next term.

Should Chelsea start Mudryk v Forest?

With this in mind, Lampard must unleash £88.5m winter acquisition Mykhailo Mudryk against the Reds this afternoon, despite the Ukrainian's endeavours on English soil being less than auspicious thus far.

After a blistering start to the season with Shakhtar Donetsk that saw the 22-year-old plunder ten goals and eight assists from 18 matches and hailed as "frightening" by the likes of journalist Josh Bunting, Mudryk's transfer to Stamford Bridge has coincided with the club's detrimental discord.

Yielding only two assists and yet to find the back of the net himself, the £97k-per-week phenom has looked lively across his recent performances. Starting in the previous win over the Cherries, he completed 94% of his passes and won three of his five duels, and preceding that, a 19-minute cameo against title-challenging Arsenal saw Mudryk make three key passes and earn an admirable 7.0 match rating.

Against Forest, who have shipped 65 goals from 35 matches upon their return to the top flight, Mudryk has a brilliant chance to finally break his duck and gather a bit of confidence before heading into the new term, where he can finally assert his authority on English football and be the "undefendable" – as he was lauded by Jack Collins – whiz that many expect him to be.

And with Chelsea now looking to make it consecutive victories in the Premier League, Mudryk being the centrepiece would only enhance the club's prospects of flourishing once more and seeking out silverware and success in abundance.