Watford vs Chelsea 03/11/19

3 November 2019

Chelsea head to the Vicarage Road to take on rock-bottom Watford looking to stretch their Premier League (PL) winning run to five games and keep their top-four status.

A dreadful start to the season sees the hosts nailed to the bottom of the table as the only team in England’s top-tier competition that is yet to pick up a victory (D5, L5). Big underdogs ahead of the kick-off, the Hornets have played out three consecutive PL draws, two of which have come via the identical 0-0 scoreline. A goalless away draw against Bournemouth has kept Watford’s tally at five goals scored, leaving them at the bottom of the PL goalscoring chart. Additionally, Quique Sánchez Flores’ men have failed to find the back of the net in three of five PL home outings (D3, L2), conceding 2+ match goals on three occasions too. Their disappointing home form is unlikely to improve here, as they’ve lost three of five top-flight home H2Hs with Chelsea since the turn of the new millennium (W1, D1), netting one goal or less in four.

Meanwhile, the visitors will be looking to bounce back after a 2-1 loss to Manchester United in their midweek’s Carabao Cup encounter and post their fifth straight PL away triumph. Surprisingly, the London giants have felt more comfortable away from home so far, as four of their six top-flight wins have come away from Stamford Bridge. After a 4-0 demolition to United in the PL curtain-raiser, the Blues have been unstoppable on the road, scoring at least three goals in each of those four wins. In fact, no side has scored more away goals than Chelsea (16) so far, but only two have shipped more than Franck Lampard’s men (11) too. Lampard’s attacking-minded football philosophy has a whopping average of 5.4 goals scored/conceded per PL away fixture as a consequence.