Match: Chelsea v Watford
Date: Saturday, October 21
Venue: Stamford Bridge, London
Time: 7:30PM Saturday (SGT)/ 5:00PM Saturday (IST)/12:30PM Saturday (BST)
TV Info: Singtel TV (Singapore)/ Star Sports Select (India)/ NBC Sports (U.S.)/ Sky Sports Premier League (UK)
Live Stream: Starhub Go app (Singapore)/ Hotstar app (India)/ NBC Sports App (U.S.)/ Sky Go (UK)
Overview
Chelsea will look to bounce back from consecutive Premier League defeats on Saturday when they host an in-form Watford side at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace in their last domestic outing before being held to a 3-3 draw by AS Roma in the UEFA Champions League.
Wednesday's match was a mixed bag for Chelsea, with some positives to take from their attacking performance and concerns over their defensive showing. The Blues let slip a 2-0 lead against the Giallorossi and had to come from behind to salvage a point.
After such an abject performance against Palace in their previous league match, in which the Eagles could easily have scored more, it will be a significant worry for Antonio Conte that his side were unable to improve on Wednesday, even if they were up against far superior opponents.
The Blues had won seven games out of eight and produced a masterful away performance at Atletico Madrid before losing to Manchester City at the end of September.
They will need to put in a stronger showing against Watford, which will not be easy given the form the Hornets are in and the raft of injuries the Blues are dealing with.
Marco Silva's men will no doubt target Chelsea in aggressive fashion, but their ability to play expansive football will also test the hosts if they show little presence in midfield or solidity at the back.
Watford, meanwhile, fired themselves above Chelsea into fourth place when they came from behind to beat Arsenal 2-1 in their most recent league game.
Team News
N'Golo Kante, Victor Moses and Danny Drinkwater are all injured for the champions, while Tiemoue Bakayoko, David Luiz and Gary Cahill are doubtful with minor complaints.
Alvaro Morata played 90 minutes against Roma on his return from a hamstring injury, so he should be in line to feature again.
Nathaniel Chalobah and Craig Cathcart are long-term absentees for the Vicarage Road outfit, while Sebastian Prodl and Younes Kaboul are "big fitness doubts." So two of Adrian Mariappa, Christian Kabasele and Miguel Britos will continue at centre-back - or all three if Marco Silva uses a three-man defence once again.
Isaac Success is also a worry for Watford because of a knee injury.
Predicted Line ups
Potential starting XI: Courtois; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger; Zappacosta, Fabregas, Bakayoko, Alonso; Pedro, Morata, Hazard.
Potential starting XI: Gomes; Femenia, Mariappa, Kabasele, Holebas; Capoue, Doucoure; Carrillo, Cleverley, Richarlison; Deeney.
Head to Head
Chelsea have lost just one of the previous eight Premier League meetings with Watford (W5 D2 L1); this coming in a 1-0 win for the Hornets at Vicarage Road back in September 1999 - Allan Smart scoring the only goal of the game.
Watford haven't won a competitive game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge since May 5th 1986. The Hornets enjoyed a 5-1 victory in their final top-flight game of the 1985-86 season, thanks to goals from David Bardsley (2), Brian Talbot (2) and Colin West.
Chelsea beat Watford both home and away in the Premier League last season by a single goal margin and both matches saw them score the winning goal in the 87th minute or later.
Michy Batshuayi scored in both meetings with Watford last season – the only side he's scored home and away against in the competition.
Chelsea haven't lost three consecutive Premier League games since November 2015 under Jose Mourinho during their title defence of the successful 2014-15 campaign.
Marco Silva has won 10 points from a possible 12 away from home in the Premier League as a manager this season (W3 D1 L0). In 2016-17 while at Hull City, he saw his side pick up just two points from nine away games in the Premier League (W0 D2 L7).
Etienne Capoue scored in both of Watford's defeats to Chelsea last season in the Premier League. He was the only player in the entire 2016-17 Premier League campaign to score home and away against the Blues.
