Watford vs. Chelsea: Team News, Preview, Live Stream, TV Info, Ticket News
They're undefeated in nine matches under interim manager Guus Hiddink, but are Chelsea finally back to their best?
Facing Watford at Vicarage Road on Wednesday evening should give us the biggest hint yet as to whether or not they are.
The Blues haven't won back-to-back Premier League matches all season, so after their 1-0 victory over Arsenal last time out, they must build on it.
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Hiddink's side are ticking all the boxes right now. They look more resilient at the back and, as we saw in the 5-1 victory over MK Dons in the FA Cup on Sunday, have a more fluid look going forward.
The next hurdle in their recovery is to win successive league matches, though. For all the positives of recent weeks, Chelsea are still in the bottom half of the table, and that must change soon.
Without consistently picking up maximum points, Chelsea are going to struggle in their outside hopes of making the top four and qualifying for the Champions League next season.
Facing Watford gives them a big chance of closing the gap on the top 10, too. The Hornets currently occupy 10th place in the table, four points clear of the Premier League champions.
As well as Chelsea's struggles in the league this season, fans were hit with another bombshell at the weekend when club legend and captain John Terry announced he wouldn't be offered a new deal beyond the current campaign.
Hiddink says he isn't expecting the news to impact Terry's form, though.
"I respect and like very much the way he’s playing and is committed to the team, and he will still be I can assure you of that, because I had some conversations with him in the past days about all kinds of things in football," said the Chelsea boss.
"[John revealed the situation] and he’s entitled, after his contract expires at the end of the season, to make up his mind. On the other hand, and I don’t want to over-value the attention we are giving it, there is also the club’s side. They still want to have a dialogue to have an open door."
The door also remains open for Chelsea to climb into the Premier League's top 10 in the coming weeks, which means nothing but victory on Wednesday will satisfy.
Match Details
Date: Wednesday, February 3
Time: 7.45 p.m. GMT/2.45 p.m. ET
Venue: Vicarage Road, Watford
TV Info: BT Sport 1 (UK only) /NBC Sports (U.S. only)
Live Stream: BT Sport app/NBCSN (U.S. only)
Last 5 Games
| Jan. 9 | Watford 1-0 Newcastle United |
| Jan. 13 | Southampton 2-0 Watford |
| Jan. 18 | Swansea City 1-0 Watford |
| Jan. 23 | Watford 2-1 Newcastle United |
| Jan. 30 | Nottingham Forest 0-1 Watford |
| Jan. 10 | Chelsea 2-0 Scunthorpe United |
| Jan. 13 | Chelsea 2-2 West Bromwich Albion |
| Jan. 16 | Chelsea 3-3 Everton |
| Jan. 24 | Arsenal 0-1 Chelsea |
| Jan. 31 | MK Dons 1-5 Chelsea |
Predicted Lineups
Business completed in the January transfer window means both managers have more options at their disposal heading into this midweek fixture—on paper, at least.
For Hiddink, he has Pato and Matt Miazga now in his squad, although the trip to Watford will be too soon for them to feature given both players haven't played competitively since November.
Willian is expected to recover from a bruised foot picked up against MK Dons on Sunday.
"Willian didn’t go on the pitch [on Monday] because he had bruising on his foot," said Hiddink at his pre-match press conference. "He will [train before the Watford match and] we’ll see how his reaction is."
Outside of the the injured Loic Remy and Radamel Falcao, Chelsea have a full squad from which to pick, however.
Quique Sanchez Flores could give a debut to Mario Suarez after his £4 million signing from Fiorentina, but on-loan Nathan Ake is unable to face his parent club.
Watford (4-3-1-2): Gomes; Paredes, Cathcart, Britos, Holebas; Capoue, Watson, Behrami; Jurado; Ighalo, Deeney.
Chelsea (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Ivanovic, Zouma, Terry, Azpilicueta; Mikel, Fabregas; Willian, Oscar, Hazard; Costa.
Key Players
Odion Ighalo
The Nigerian continues to prove what a potent threat in front of goal he is.
Ighalo scored his 15th goal in all competitions at the weekend with a late winner against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup. That has set up a fifth-round clash with Leeds United, which Watford are heavy favourites to win.
Should they pull that off, they'll be into the quarter-finals of the competition and really in the mix for a Wembley appearance.
Similarly, Ighalo has put the Hornets in the mix in the Premier League. The Europa League positions are probably too far off, but they still have a realistic hope of finishing in the top 10.
For a side promoted only last season, it would be an impressive feat. Picking up three points against Chelsea would also be some achievement for Watford, and Ighalo will be a big reason why if that happens.
The Spaniard has commented in recent weeks that he's gradually getting back to his best, and we saw more evidence to that effect on Sunday.
It was Championship opposition in the FA Cup, but Fabregas was excellent once more against MK Dons. His through ball to set Eden Hazard on his way to assisting Bertrand Traore for Chelsea's fifth goal of the game was reminiscent of the player we saw in the first part of last season.
When the former Barcelona man is in this sort of form, the Blues look a massive threat on the attack.
Chelsea are back playing football in the right areas and Fabregas is a massive reason for that. More of the same against Watford and they should continue this run of form that has seen them undefeated in nine games.
Ticket Information
For ticket information on all Premier League games visit the official site or go to the ticket page on the Watford's official website.
Prediction
Watford 1-2 Chelsea
Odds
Home Win: +300
Away Win: -110
Draw: +245
First Goalscorer: Diego Costa (17/5)
Odds via Odds Shark and Oddschecker
Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes
