Watford welcome Chelsea to Vicarage Road on Saturday as Antonio Conte takes charge of his first away game. Here are some match predictions from our staff.
After a late win to kick off the Antonio Conte era, Chelsea make the short trip to Vicarage Road to take on Watford this weekend. Ahead of the game I checked in with The Pride Of London staff writers to get a prediction. The random Twitter follower for this week, meanwhile, is Nick Born (@nickborn24), a student from New York.
Nick Born: 2-1 to the Blues. Oscar builds on his performance from last week and his need for redemption from his missed pen against Watford last season with a MOTM performance. Hazard nets an absolute beauty, but without any defensive reinforcements, Chelsea once again fail to secure a clean sheet. No (Isaac) Success for Watford on the team sheet or in the result.
Ayushman Basu: Chelsea 3-1 Watford. The blistering attack will definitely result in more goals but the defense still doesn’t cut it for me. Until a certain Koulibaly arrives, a clean sheet will be tough to keep.
Related Story: Chelsea vs. Watford: Five things to watch for
Travis Tyler: 1-0 Chelsea. Our matches against Watford last season were some of the most uninspired games I have ever seen. Though I think we have the fire in our bellies now, Watford will still prove a tough nut to crack and it will require a brief moment of magic between Fabregas and Costa to unlock the door for the fixture’s solitary goal.
Andre Carlisle: 2-1 Watford. Walter Mazzarri gives his old club the gift of a blank cheque for Koulibaly as Deeney and Ighalo’s movement terrorizes the back line. Hazard will produce magic but it’s Willian who will need to be spectacular – he won’t be.
Ajitesh Rasgotra: 1-0 Watford. Chelsea did not impress me all too much on Monday night. Expect teething problems to hinder the Blues at Vicarage Road.
Barrett Rouen: 2-1 Chelsea. Diego Costa will score again in what will be an ugly match. Watford will make up for a lack of outright talent with work ethic and Chelsea will have to match them every step of the way to get anything out of this match.
Daniel McClue: 1-1. Conte’s first away match will tone down expectations for the season. A lacklustre game will be sparked into life by a moment of magic from Matic (you heard me). A late Watford equaliser will result in a £86 million bid for Koulibaly by the Blues.
Drew Hooper: 2-1 Chelsea. Watford have an obvious need for defense based on their transfer activity so Costa and company should have a field day. Chelsea’s defense, though, is still vulnerable to getting hit on the counter so expect Watford to steal one back.
Next: Chelsea visit Watford: Key clashes and matchups
And the table. Five points for a correct score or just three for the right result.
| Name | Correct Scores | Correct Results | Total Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Travis Tyler | 3 | 30 | 105 |
| Scott Brant | 5 | 21 | 88 |
| Daniel McClue | 2 | 21 | 73 |
| Ben Croft | 3 | 14 | 57 |
| Barrett Rouen | 3 | 8 | 39 |
| Brendan McDonnell | 1 | 11 | 38 |
| Andre Carlisle | 3 | 7 | 36 |
| Ayushman Basu | 1 | 6 | 23 |
| Rayna Sidhu | 1 | 6 | 23 |
| Random Twitter Followers | 1 | 5 | 20 |
| Khaled Abdallah | 1 | 5 | 20 |
| Ollie Miller | 1 | 4 | 17 |
| Drew Hooper | 1 | 3 | 14 |
| Ajitesh Rasgotra | 0 | 4 | 12 |
| Martin Connolly | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| Kee Min | 0 | 3 | 9 |
| Elkebir Lamrani | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| George Perry | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Alex Gisi | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Neel Madhavan | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Anoop Ramakrishnan | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Eric Overbey | 0 | 1 | 3 |
Sound off with your predictions in the comments below!