Chances to bounce back don’t get much better than 20th place Watford, even if Chelsea have to make a short trip away from home for the game.
Chelsea hope to start another seven (at least) game win streak on the road, down the road at Watford. A lot of minds will already be on the Champions League tie against Ajax on Tuesday, but we made sure to limit our writers’ predictions to the game at hand.
Scott Brant: Watford 1 – 2 Chelsea. Watford aren’t half bad at home, or at least they aren’t as bad as on the road. Chelsea will win the match, and I am taking a risk by only predicting a win by one goal. They go up two early and coast, allowing Watford to pull one back late. With Tammy Abraham returning to the lineup, look for him to net a brace and get back near the top of the scoring list. Then on to the huge Champions League match Tuesday.
Barrett Rouen: 0 – 2. It’s tempting to go with a 2-1 score line. That’s an incredibly safe and uncreative prediction, but sadly one that makes a lot of sense given Chelsea’s inability to maintain defensive concentration for more than 70 minutes at a time.
That said, Tammy Abraham will return and score because that’s what Tammy Abraham does. Chelsea will manage to record a clean sheet more because Watford won’t score than by their own successful defending.
Olaoluwa Nwobodo: 2 – 3. Frank Lampard finally rotated. It would have been disastrous if he didn’t.
Watford is never an easy game. Chelsea has had good away form as of late, and Watford has had poor form generally. This game will see more goals than expected, though: going into Kepa Arrizabalaga’s net, that is. Arrizabalaga has been found wanting when it comes to making saves. So while Watford has not been creating lots of chances, they might not need to given Arrizabalaga’s subpar saving ability.
Chelsea will edge this one and then look ahead to the Ajax game at home. Michy Batshuayi with two goals, Mason Mount with the other. Mateo Kovacic with three assists (because why not?).
Nate Hofmann: 1 – 2. Both Chelsea and Watford are coming into this match off the back of Carabao Cup defeats, though Watford’s is pretty much par for the course given their season so far. The only positive trend for the Hornets is their three-match run of draws in the league, conceding (and scoring) just one goal. That’s the dictionary description of “grasping at straws.”
As for Chelsea, a second loss against Marcus Rashford F.C. stings, but Lampard should have some important fresh legs available on Saturday. A well-rested Tammy Abraham, Willian and Mason Mount should be enough to prolong Watford’s miserable start to the season.
Naturally, Chelsea will likely concede a late goal that forces fans to sweat out the final few minutes, but Watford just aren’t up to much at the moment, and a two goal deficit will be more than they can handle. Unless it’s against Arsenal.
Kevin Peacock: 0 – 4. In the Premier League, this season, Chelsea haven’t scored fewer than three goals when playing away from the Bridge (aside from that ridiculous 4-0 defeat on the first day). There’s no reason for that not to continue at bottom of the table Watford FC.
After all, Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount and the like have excelled against teams playing on the cusp of joining the Championship. The Blues will be too good for the Hornets, scoring two goals in each half. Tambraham (2), Mason Mount and Michy Batshuayi with the goals in a straightforward win.
Varun Dani: 0 – 4. There’s just something about rock bottom teams suddenly coming to life against Chelsea, so if taken lightly, Watford can really hurt the Blues on the breaks. Lampard’s young team though, is a wounded beast after that loss against United, having lost the chance at redemption.
Midweek rotation, fine away form and the desire to start a new winning streak will all contribute to a hard earned victory but one with a comfortable scoreline. Willian will again put in a man of the match performance to remind Christian Pulisic and Callum Hudson-Odoi who the star winger is in this team.
Abhishek Pancholi: 1 – 3. After the midweek mishap against Manchester United, Chelsea will be back to their attacking best. Willian will run the show and set up the first two goals. Jorginho, meanwhile, will earn his fifth caution and get himself banned for the next game, inadvertently triggering his own departure from the starting XI for a very long time. He will then play safer than usual, running in the opposite direction to any play that may require tackling. This will allow Watford to casually stroll through the Chelsea midfield and get one back.
Thankfully, Pulisic will come on for the final 20 minutes and settle Chelsea nerves with the game’s third and final goal.