Frank Lampard is likely to ring in the changes in midfield as Chelsea attempt to bounce back from the West Ham loss in their home game against Watford.
The race for the Champions League places is really heating up, what with Chelsea and Leicester City both faltering. Frank Lampard’s men lost 3-2 in a London derby against West Ham United during the midweek and it has piled on the pressure, making the Watford fixture a much important one.
Kepa Arrizabalaga wasn’t exactly the ideal safe pair of gloves for Chelsea, but should retain his spot for now. The defence will also see changes, with the marauding Marcos Alonso ideally making way for Reece James. This should see Cesar Azpilicueta move to the left, with James preferring the right side.
Fikayo Tomori remains on the sidelines and normally, we should see Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger keeping their places. Kurt Zouma, though, is in with a great shout to come in after the Chelsea backline leaked three goals against West Ham.
Chelsea should see a midfield overhaul, with the trio of N’Golo Kante, Ross Barkley and Mateo Kovacic likely to be in need of a rest, having impressed against West Ham. Kovacic is not going to play a part anyhow, with the manager confirming an achilles injury in the pre-match conference.
“Kovacic is going to be out of this game. He hurt his Achilles during the West Ham game and will miss this one, possibly the next one after that but hopefully it won’t be too long after that.”
Lampard should deal in Jorginho and Mason Mount, with the last spot filled up by Billy Gilmour.
Tammy Abraham was a no-show against West Ham and is likely to make way for Olivier Giroud as Lampard waits to add Timo Werner to his arsenal for the upcoming season. Willian and Christian Pulisic should retain their places against Watford after having played an important part, albeit in the defeat to the Hammers.
Predicted Chelsea Starting XI: Kepa; James, Christensen, Rudiger, Azpilicueta; Gilmour, Jorginho, Mount; Willian, Giroud, Pulisic
