Chelsea: Four things to look for against Watford as Blues seek rebound

4. Can Christian Pulisic keep this up, and will Lampard keep him going?

Christian Pulisic is Chelsea’s best player at the moment. His recent performances have been, for lack of a better term, Eden Hazardy. He’s currently the team’s best dribbler, passer and shooter, and he’s putting in a better defensive shift than most of Chelsea’s back line.

With the fixtures coming thick and fast though, Lampard has a tough decision on his hands. For as good as Pulisic is, durability has not been his strong suit. He was a doubt for the West Ham match, yet still played the full ninety minutes. Given Pulisic’s current status as the alpha and omega of Chelsea’s attacking play, Lampard hardly had any other choice as Chelsea chased the three points in the latter stages of the match.

Had Chelsea won on Wednesday, Pulisic would have almost certainly been rested against Watford. Unfortunately, that’s not how things shook out, so Lampard is looking at a very tricky conundrum: drain the good form from Pulisic’s veins like a footballing Chupacabra until there’s nothing left and risk a season ending pulled muscle, or drop the best player for a match that suddenly feels like a must win.

Ideally, he gets the rest. Give the kid a break, and hopefully it’ll pay off over the final matches of the season. He was clearly dragging by the end of the West Ham match, and yet was still creating Chelsea’s best chances up until Yarmolenko scored the winner.

But two straight defeats to two relegation contenders would be a very tough look for Lampard and the team. Maybe try Pulisic out one more time, and take him off the minute Chelsea get any sort of lead? If it gets Chelsea back on track, maybe it’s worth the risk.

Balancing Pulisic’s health with Chelsea’s need to win is going to be an interesting tightrope for Lampard to walk. His approach to the Watford match will be the first step.

What are you looking for in the Watford match? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter!