Chelsea face Watford: Times, team news, all you need to know
Chelsea travel to Vicarage Road on Saturday to square off with Watford. Here is all you need to know about Antonio Conte’s first game on the road.
After a narrow win over West Ham United on Monday, Chelsea make the short trip across London to Watford this weekend. Antonio Conte will take charge of his first Premier League away game as the Blues take on the Hornets. Here is all you need to know.
Watford v Chelsea, 20th August 2016
Vicarage Road, Premier League
Time: 15:00 BST, 10:00 ET
TV: Untelevised (UK), CNBC (US), find your local TV station here
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Team News
Chelsea had a fairly clean weak, with no new injuries reported by Antonio Conte. However, the boss may change things up from the starting line-up he used on Monday.
Willian was noticeably ineffective during the contest, eventually being replaced by Pedro in the 80th minute. The Brazilian may find himself starting on the bench at Vicarage Road, especially on the back of a lacklustre pre-season.
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Victor Moses may also be in with an outside chance of starting. The Nigerian was arguably Chelsea’s best player during the warm-ups, showcasing what he can bring to the team. Whether Conte has enough confidence in him yet to start is another question.
Branislav Ivanovic surprised with a decent display at right-back, suppressing calls for him to be replaced by Ola Aina. Expect the Serbian to continue in the slot until something goes significantly wrong.
The performance of N’Golo Kante means that he will almost certainly start again. Cesc Fabregas could come in for either Oscar or Nemanja Matic as neither of them particularly stood out. The inclusion of Juan Cuadrado, meanwhile, will provide clues about his immediate Stamford Bridge future.
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The Opposition
After a poor second half of the season, Watford decided to part ways with Quique Sanchez Flores over the summer. Walter Mazzarri is the new man in charge and he got off to a decent enough start. The Hornets managed to grab a point from their clash with Southampton.
They will still be without their club record signing, Isaac Success, while Ben Watson is suspended following a red card last week. Two arrivals in the shape of Roberto Pereyra and Younes Kaboul are unavailable.
However, they have kept the dangerous duo of Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo, with Ikechi Anya ready to come on from the bench.
Game Central
Predicted XI
Five keys to look for
Key clashes
Conte’s pre-match quotes
Score predictions
POL’s Premier League prediction game