Monday 5th February
Watford v Chelsea 20:00
Chelsea suffered a shock 0-3 home loss over Bournemouth in midweek, so will be looking to bounce back quickly from that. That defeat has put a lot of pressure on them ending up in the top four with Spurs, Man Utd and Liverpool all in the hunt too.
On form though a trip to Watford could be just what the Blues need after that defeat – with all due respect to the Hornets it should be easier than say a trip to Man City or Liverpool. That said, after conceding 3 goals to Bournemouth then it’s still difficult to have total faith in Chelsea.
Olivier Giroud might be able to add a bit of spark to Chelsea’s side though after joining them from Arsenal last week. The Frenchman is sure to be involved with scoring goals being one of the serious issues Conti’s side have had in recent months. He’s 5.00 to score the first goal, or 2.20 anytime.
Morata, with 10 league goals, is another Chelsea player that is sure to be popular in the scoring markets at 4.75 (1st) or 2.10 (anytime), but team news in the build-up to the game should be noted first.
The match betting has Chelsea at odds-on 1.57, with the draw 4.00 and Watford 5.75.
The Blues notched a 4-2 home victory against Watford earlier this season, while Chelsea also won this same fixture last season – that ended 1-2.
If we also add in that Chelsea have not lost in their last 13 in all competitions when playing Watford then despite their recent form everything still points to the away side here.
However, at 1.57 there is certainly no value in backing the Blues here, so the better option is to select one of the associated markets.
Both teams have found the back of the net in 4 of the last 5 head-to-heads so the 1.90 here is one to have on your radar, but this clash is actually one that generally produces plenty of goals.
In fact, the last two head-to-heads saw OVER 5.5 GOALS, so if you fancy another goal-fest then 6+ goals is on offer at 13.00, with 5+ 6.00, or 4+ at 3.00.
But, let’s not get too carried away here. With 7 of the last 8 match-ups seeing Over 2.5 Goals then the 1.80 on this happening again with a recent return of 88% looks decent value too.
Giroud is sure to play a part and be keen to turn Chelsea’s recent up-and-down form around, while Watford will come into the game with some hope, based Bournemouth putting three past the current champions last week. Two factors that could also contribute to this having plenty of goals! We’ll see!
BEST BET: OVER 2.5 GOALS @1.80
=============================================================
Monday 5th February
Watford v Chelsea 20:00
– Already played this season, Chelsea 4-2 Watford
– Last season’s repeat fixture ended, Watford 1-2 Cheslea
– 7 of the last 8 head-to-heads went OVER 2.5 GOALS
– The last 2 head-to-heads both went OVER 5.5 GOALS
– Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 13 vs Watford (all comps)
– Both teams scored in 4 of the last 5 head-to-heads
– Watford have scored just 1 goals in the last 3 repeat fixtures
– Chelsea have scored at least 2 goals in 7 of their last 8 games vs Watford