Chelsea - Match Preview

History of the Chelsea v Watford fixture

Watford pack their bags to visit Jose Mourinho's Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon, having the edge over their hosts in previous meetings. The visitors have won 4 of the ten meeting between the teams with the hosts winning just 3.

The last match played between the two clubs was at Stamford Bridge in January 2004, the Blues sweeping to an impressive four goal victory in a Third Round FA Cup replay after the original televised match at Vicarage Road had ended two apiece.

For a detailed analysis of the head-to-head between the two sides, click here

Recent encounters between the teams:
2003/2004	Wed 14 Jan	Chelsea	4-0	Watford	FAC
2003/2004	Sat 03 Jan	Watford	2-2	Chelsea	FAC
1999/2000	Sat 26 Feb	Chelsea	2-1	Watford	PREM
1999/2000	Sat 18 Sep	Watford	1-0	Chelsea	PREM
1988/1989	Sat 11 Mar	Chelsea	2-2	Watford	CHMP
1988/1989	Sat 05 Nov	Watford	1-2	Chelsea	CHMP
1987/1988	Tue 29 Mar	Chelsea	1-1	Watford	PREM

Recent respective form guides

Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 49 home games, including six this season.

Five of these fixtures have been won, with the other being an entertaining draw against Martin O'Neill's Aston Villa (1-1) at the end of September. Chelsea has managed to find the net on eleven occasions during this spell with just two goals conceded.

In complete contrast to the mega-rich West Londoners, Watford are having a difficult time on their travels, and are yet to win on the road this season.

Of the five matches played thus far, the Golden Boys have picked up just two points, courtesy of draws at Wigan Athletic (1-1) and more recently Charlton Athletic (0-0), while the team has netted just twice and conceded seven.

Chelsea, as expected are challenging strongly for a third successive title and have accrued 25 points from their opening 11 matches, although they do find themselves in second spot and three points behind Manchester United in the Premiership table following their odd goal in three defeat to Tottenham Hotspur last Sunday.

Watford continue to be extremely hard to beat following their elevation back to the top flight, and after defeating Middlesbrough last weekend have crucially got themselves just above the relegation zone, with 9 points from their 11 matches played.

For a detailed analysis of team form guides throughout the leagues, click here

Current form guides:	P	W	D	L	F	A	P
Chelsea	6	4	1	1	13	5	13
Watford	6	2	3	1	6	6	9

FootyMad's Prediction…

A devilishly difficult game for Aidy Boothroyd and his troops, and given the respective financial resources of both clubs, there simply is only one winner.

Football is rarely that predictable however, and here at the Golden Boys we remain ever optimistic that Watford will, at some stage during the campaign, surprise one of the big clubs.

Opening the scoring is often crucial in these David v Goliath games, but if Watford are able to convert an early chance they may just be able to derail the Chelsea juggernaut.

It's a big, big if, but here's hoping...... Score Draw

Sequence statistics:
Chelsea	Won 3 successive home games. 4 games since last home draw.
Watford	Not won in previous 5 away matches. 6 games since last defeat.