A wounded Chelsea side make the trip up the M1 to Vicarage Road on Monday to face Watford in the Premier League.
Antonio Conte's men suffered an embarrassing 3-0 defeat at home to Bournemouth on Wednesday, bringing their tally of league defeats this season to five, and they cannot afford to lose any more ground as the race for a top-four finish heats up.
Watford, meanwhile, are under new management in the form of Javi Gracia an the Spanish coach has been tasked with arresting the club's seeming free-fall down the table.
The Blues were 4-2 victors when they faced off at Stamford Bridge in October, but they will encounter a different prospect this time around.
Game | Watford vs Chelsea |
Date | Monday, February 5 |
Time | 20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET |
Stream (US only) | fuboTV (7-day free trial) |
TV CHANNEL & LIVE STREAM
In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial).
New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.
US TV channel | Online stream |
---|---|
NBCSN / NBC Universo | fuboTV |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game can be watched live on TV on Sky Sports Premier League and it can be streamed live online using Sky Go.
UK TV channel | Online stream |
---|---|
Sky Sports Premier League | Sky Go |
SQUADS & TEAM NEWS
Position | Watford players |
---|---|
Goalkeepers | Karnezis, Bachmann |
Defenders | Janmaat, Prodl, Mariappa, Wague, Zeegelaar, Holebas, Kabasele, Hoban |
Midfielders | Cleverley, Chalobah, Doucoure, Lukebakio, Carillo, Capoue, Pereyra, Stewart |
Forwards | Deulofeu, Deeney, Richarlison, Sinclair, Gray, Okaka |
Watford boss Javi Gracia has an injury headache to contend with as a number of players remain sidelined ahead of the game.
Heurelho Gomes, Craig Cathcart and Younes Kaboul are all still out of action, as are Will Hughes, Miguel Britos and Kiko Femenia. New signing Didier Ndong will miss out due to suspension.Tom Cleverley, meanwhile, should return.
Potential Watford starting XI: Karnezis; Mariappa, Kabasele, Prodl, Holebas; Cleverley, Capoue, Doucoure; Deulofeu, Richarlison, Deeney.
Position | Chelsea players |
---|---|
Goalkeepers | Caballero, Courtois, Eduardo |
Defenders | Rudiger, Alonso, Zappacosta, Cahill, Luiz, Azpilicueta, Emerson, Ampadu, Sterling |
Midfielders | Fabregas, Drinkwater, Kante, Barkley, Hazard, Pedro, Bakayoko, Moses, Willian, Scott, Hudson-Odoi |
Forwards | Giroud |
Chelsea will be without a number of players, with Andreas Christensen joining Alvaro Morata on the treatment table. Willian and David Luiz were both carrying knocks but should be available.
New signings Olivier Giroud and Emerson could make their debuts after joining in the January transfer window.
Potential Chelsea starting XI: Courtois; Azpilicueta, Cahill, Luiz, Emerson, Alonso; Kante, Hazard, Pedro, Bakayoko; Giroud.
BETTING & MATCH ODDS
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Chelsea are 8/13 favourites to win according to dabblebet, with Watford priced at 9/2 to beat the Blues at Vicarage Road. A draw is considered a 14/5 bet.
GAME PREVIEW
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Chelsea's top-four hopes took a major blow when they lost to Bournemouth at home and the pressure is mounting on Conte as he attempts to ensure Champions League football for the club next season.
However, despite the uproar that followed the loss to the Cherries, the Italian coach, who won the Premier League last season, insisted that he was doing a "great job" as Blues boss.
The January transfer window saw some personnel changes at Stamford Bridge, with Michy Batshuayi and Charly Musonda leaving on loan, while Olivier Giroud and Emerson have arrived.
With fifth-place Tottenham breathing down their necks and in impressive form, Conte will need those new faces to make an immediate impact, beginning with Watford on Monday.