Frank Lampard’s Chelsea side will be looking to bounce back from their disappointing 2-1 defeat at the hands of Manchester United when they travel to Vicarage Road on Saturday, to take on winless Watford. Despite the Hornets’ rather miserable form since the start of the campaign, the Blues will have to be wary of the offensive threat that this Watford side is capable of producing.
Chelsea’s last league fixture ended in a comfortable 4-2 victory over Burnley at Turf Moor, and although the Blues were in complete control of that tie, they shipped a couple of unnecessary late goals. Watford will be hoping for a similar opportunity against the Blues this weekend, as they’ll look to stop them from scoring four times as well.
Team News
Frank Lampard still has multiple injury concerns that he must deal with before he can have a full-strength squad at his disposal. Although Emerson was close to a return, he wasn’t risked by the manager against Manchester United, only to then pick up another minor niggle on his thigh, making him a doubt for the weekend game as well. Defensive duo Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger are still on the injury table as well, although both are close to their returns.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek continues on his road to recovery as he hopes to return to action before the turn of the year. Ross Barkley is another one who’s been out with an ankle problem in recent weeks, but Frank Lampard has now provided an update that the Englishman could be ready and available for the Blues’ trip to Vicarage Road. N’Golo Kante’s return is one that has been long-awaited by the Chelsea fans and Lampard has also claimed that he could be ready in time for when they host Ajax in Europe.
Formation: 4-3-3
Defence
Fikayo Tomori was given a rest as Chelsea lost to Manchester United in midweek, meaning that he could make his return to first-team action on the weekend. Although Zouma did play in the league cup tie, the Frenchman’s form suggests that his place in the side shouldn’t come under question anytime soon. Another player who was expected to start on Wednesday was Emerson Palmieri. The Italian international probably won’t return against Watford either, meaning that Marcos Alonso could continue, with Cesar Azpilicueta captaining the side from right-back.
Midfield
Chelsea are currently extremely short on numbers in the middle of the park with Kante, Loftus-Cheek and Barkley all treating knocks. Although the latter is expected to be in contention for this match, expect Frank Lampard to stick with the midfield trio of Mason Mount, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic. All three of them have done supremely well since the start of the campaign.
Mason Mount wasn’t fielded from the start against Manchester United, and that could be one of the main reasons for their defeat. Although Kovacic and Jorginho provide a lot of composure and movement in the middle of the park, it is Mason Mount who adds the drive into the Chelsea picture. His return to the Blues’ core will make them a much more balanced side.
Attack
Tammy Abraham is another player who sat most of the United game out on the sidelines. Michy Batshuayi started the game and scored a brilliant goal to bring the game back to 1-1 in the second half. Despite this, expect Lampard to give the Englishman his return to the starting lineup against Watford. Abraham, who’s been in fine form since the start of the campaign, is second on the goalscoring charts, just one behind Leicester’s Jamie Vardy. Beside him, expect Christian Pulisic and Willian to both get starts, meaning that Callum Hudson-Odoi could drop to the bench.
