Chelsea vs. Watford, Premier League: Team news, preview, how to watch

Chelsea squandered a fantastic opportunity to go third on Wednesday. Even worse, the 3-2 defeat to West Ham meant that, at the same time, the chasing pack cut the deficit to just two points. With six games to go, the four teams third through sixth are separated by just three points.

Not much time to feel sorry for ourselves. Here’s another must-win.

Date / Time: Saturday, July 4, 2020, 20.00 BST; 3pm EDT; 12:30am IST (next day)
Venue: Stamford Bridge, SW6
Referee: Kevin Friend (on pitch); Graham Scott (VAR)
Forecast: Warm but overcast and breezy

On TV: Sky Sports Main Event (UK); NBCSN (USA); Star Sports Select HD1 (India); SuperSport 3, Canal+ Sport 2 (NGA); elsewhere
Streaming: Sky Go (UK); NBC Sports Live (USA); Hotstar (India); DStv Now (NGA)

Chelsea team news: The Blues have been in great health during Project Restart’s busy schedule, but Mateo Kovačić did pick up a minor Achilles problem on Wednesday, ruling him out for the next couple games. He joins Fikayo Tomori on the sidelines, in the team’s only injuries of note.

Lampard could ring several changes from midweek, as Chelsea look to put that debacle behind us. We might even see the (increasingly) strangely absent Jorginho play!

Watford team news: The Bees are also in relatively good shape as far as injuries are concerned, with only a trio of long-term injuries to contend with at the moment. One of those missing is thorn-in-our-side Gerard Deuolofeu; joined by Daryl Janmaat and Isaac Succes.

Speaking of success, Watford haven’t had much at all this season, but as we saw on Wednesday, that may not matter much for one 90-minute encounter, especially with the team fighting tooth and nail to survive in the Premier League.

Previously: Chelsea have won three in a row against Watford following the infamous 4-1 loss at Vicarage Road in 2018. Abraham and Pulisic scored in the 2-1 win earlier this season.