PREM: Watford v Chelsea preview

Watford v Chelsea preview

Chelsea will be looking to bounce back quickly when they travel to Vicarage Road to face Watford on Boxing Day.

Jamie Vardy scored the winner as Chelsea suffered a shock 1-0 defeat against Leicester at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, and head coach Maurizio Sarri wants a reaction from his side when they face Watford.

 

"It's important to play again in four days, maybe positive, maybe negative, it depends on our reaction after the match," he said.

"In the match, we had a bad reaction, now it depends on the reaction in the next three days. I think it's important to play immediately."

 

Meanwhile, Watford are up to seventh in the Premier League and threatening the European places following their 2-0 victory at West Ham on Saturday.

 

A return of 27 points from 18 matches will have pleased the Watford hierarchy and a top-10 finish looks well within their grasp with a continuation of their current form.

 

Watford have an unchanged squad.

Will Hughes (hip), Andre Gray (leg), Sebastian Prodl (knee) and Adalberto Penaranda (foot) remain sidelined for the Hornets.

Boss Javi Gracia must decide whether to rotate his squad or stick with the side which saw off the Hammers.

Sarri could recall Olivier Giroud to his line-up which would free up Eden Hazard to drop back in an attacking midfield role. Alvaro Morata is likely to feature at some stage after recovering from a knee injury.

Ross Barkley and Ruben Loftus-Cheek could both given starting roles while Andreas Christensen will remain on the sidelines with a hamstring problem.