Chelsea visit Watford: Predictions for Antonio Conte’s first road game
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!