Chelsea vs Watford predicted XI: 4-3-1-2 on Premiership Sunday?
Romelu Lukaku (No. 9) Right striker, Belgium
Romelu Lukaku was subbed off for Kai Havertz last time after only taking two shots. He did create the perfect chance for Christian Pulisic, and he could have been the assist hero had Pulisic finished that chance. Lukaku has now scored eight league goals for the Blues and has also created four big chances. He has no assists though. Many are speculating that he may be sold, but the likelihood of that happening is nearly zero.
Hakim Ziyech (No. 22) Central attacking midfielder, Morocco
No one understands what is happening with Hakim Ziyech at the moment. He played well against Leicester City last time out, despite not scoring or assisting. However, he was playing as well as this before he disappeared off the face of the earth—eh . . . pitch. Whether it’s tactical preferences or personal issues, it’s difficult to figure out why Ziyech did not start again after the Brentford game earlier in the campaign. The Moroccan started all 11 games after the Brentford game on the bench. You know what’s even weirder? He was the best player in that Brentford game.
Even if he was injured, he must have recovered fairly quickly, because he kept appearing on the bench. Everyone knows every manager applies favoritism to their team selection, the question is: by how much? That question is difficult to answer with Tuchel. Ziyech got a long-overdue start against Leicester where he created one of Chelsea’s three big chances. Altogether, Ziyech has created the second most big chances for Chelsea this season, despite barely ever getting a consistent run of form. He also has more big chances per game than any other Chelsea player. He only created six big chances in 15 starts last season and now has created eight in 13 starts. Ziyech has shown that he can be the man to create quality chances regularly for Chelsea, the ball is now in Tuchel’s court going forward.
Kai Havertz (No. 29) Left forward, Germany
Kai Havertz did well to get into position to receive a superb goal scoring opportunity late against Leicester City, but unfortunately, he couldn’t even get the shot off. He has now scored seven goals and missed 11 clear-cut chances in the league.
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