Watford vs Chelsea: Premier League latest score, goals and updates
WATFORD 1-1 CHELSEA | HAZARD (46), PEREYRA (48)
Watford: Foster, Femenia, Cathcart, Kabasele, Holebas, Capoue, Doucoure, Sema, Pereyra, Deeney, Deulofeu
Chelsea XI: Arrizabalaga, Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Luiz, Alonso, Kante, Jorginho, Kovacic, Willian, Hazard, Pedro
- Alvaro Morata not included in matchday squad despite being fit
- Christian Kabasele off injured, Adrian Mariappa on
- Eden Hazard misses open goal from three yards
- Callum Hudson-Odoi replaces the injured Pedro
- Eden Hazard opens the scoring with fine finish
- Roberto Pereyra volleys in an absolute beauty
Watford vs Chelsea: Premier League latest score, goals and updates (Image: REUTERS)
WATFORD 1-1 CHELSEA
51: Nothing Like Troy Deeney outmuscling someone to get the Watford supporters on their feet. He engages in a battle with Antonio Rudiger and wins his side a corner, which is promptly cleared.
48: Lovely weighted pass from David Luiz splits the Watford defence, but N’Golo Kante can’t connect and Ben Foster collects. Really good chance… for anyone other than the former Leicester man.
WATFORD 1-1 CHELSEA
45: And we’re back underway folks. I’m considering just leaving and coming back for stoppage-time, that seems to be when these sides do their best work. No changes for either manager.
Watford vs Chelsea: Premier League latest score, goals and updates (Image: GETTY)
WATFORD 1-1 CHELSEA
HT: Well that escalated quickly. 45 minutes of fairly tepid football bursts into life inside four minutes of stoppage-time. We’re level at the break folks!
Incidentally, Roberto Pereyra has scored three goals in three Premier League appearances against Chelsea – more than against any other opponent in the competition.
WATFORD 1-1 CHELSEA – PEREYRA
48: Hold the phone! Eden Hazard must have thought his goal would see Chelsea go in ahead at the break… but Roberto Pereyra had other ideas!
The midfielder arrives on the edge of the area and connects beautifully with a volley off the outside of his boot.
Watford vs Chelsea: Premier League latest score, goals and updates (Image: GETTY)
WATFORD 0-1 CHELSEA | HAZARD
46: Undone on the stroke of half-time! Eden Hazard gives Chelsea the lead with an emphatic finish.
Watford only have themselves to blame with some sloppy play from Doucoure in the middle of the park gifting possession to Mateo Kovacic. The Real Madrid loanee releases Hazard, who rounds Ben Foster and finishes.
45: That tackle from Jose Holebas has forced Pedro off with what looks like a dead leg. Olivier Giroud to replace him? Nope It’s young Callum Hudson-Odoi!
43: Jose Holebas with a great last-ditch tackle to deny Pedro, who would have been one-on-one with Ben Foster.
Watford vs Chelsea: Premier League latest score, goals and updates (Image: REUTERS)
41: Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve looked into what exactly Sky Sports commentator Martin Tyler was talking about when explaining his board game at Christmas.
I believe he was playing something called ‘Hazard,’ and here’s the description.
“Themed on Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and an old dice game called Hasard, players gamble stakes on dice rolls, allowing to progress along the track. In doing so, they lay cards depicting the various pilgrims progressing to Canterbury.”
All fun over at Martin’s gaff…
38: From the ridiculous to the sublime from Deulofeu, who collects Jorginho’s poor pass and races towards goal. He tees up Troy Deeney, who takes an eternity to reach the pass and Luiz blocks. More of that and less of the diving please, Gerard.
35: Gerard Deulofeu with a very late contender for ‘dive of the year’ when theatrically falling when breathed upon by David Luiz.
Watford vs Chelsea: Premier League latest score, goals and updates (Image: REUTERS)
33: Eh?! I think Eden Hazard has just missed a sitter! Cesar Azpilicueta drills a low cross across the six-yard box and somehow the Belgian misses the ball completely.
Ahhhh, he tried to cleverly backheel the ball like Gianfranco Zola against Norwich in 1996.
30: “Doucoure… on his good left foot,” says Martin Tyler as Pereyra breaks away down the left flank and squares it for Doucoure to shank high and wide of the target. Not such a good left foot from the right-footed player…
29: A few dull moments here at Vicarage Road. So dull that Martin Tyler has just treated us to an anecdote about a board game he played on Christmas day…
26: Watford piece together one of the best moves I’ve seen this season. The Hornets work it from their own penalty area to the Chelsea six-yard box through Kiko Femenia and Abdoulaye Doucoure. The midfielder cuts inside from the byline but sees his effort blocked by Jorginho.
Watford vs Chelsea: Premier League latest score, goals and updates (Image: REUTERS)
23: Bizarre decision from referee Martin Atkinson not to award Eden Hazard a free-kick when bundled over by Femenia. He’d reached the edge of the penalty area and was about to pull the trigger!
20: Training-ground routine from Watford. Jose Holebas sends a deep free-kick to the far post where Sema arrives to scuff the finish. Waste.
17: Ah… Christian Kabasele’s miraculous recovery didn’t last long as the towering centre-back heads off with Adrian Mariappa taking his place.
Reminds me of when I get a stitch during a game of 5-a-side and bravely soldier on before immediately thinking better of it, turning around, and going in goal.
15: Wow, Kabasele is clearly made of sterner stuff. The centre-back jogs onto the field like nothing happened. Watford have a full compliment again.
Watford vs Chelsea: Premier League latest score, goals and updates (Image: REUTERS)
Watford vs Chelsea: Premier League latest score, goals and updates (Image: REUTERS)
14: Ouch! Looks nasty that. Willian clips the ball round Ben Foster and looks to finish from an acute angle. Christian Kabasele bravely slides to make a block and clatters into the post.
He’s down and the medical staff have arrived quickly. Doesn’t look like he’ll be able to continue tonight. The annoying thing is that Willian shot wide anyway…
11: Oops! Kepa Arrizabalaga drops an absolute clanger when inexplicably passing the ball straight to Gerard Deulofeu, who in-turn attempts to back-heel the ball to Troy Deeney. Chelsea clear.
8: Pedro has started brightly. Constantly buzzing round the Watford defence pressing for an error. Not seen much from anyone else thus far – It’s certainly not roared into life.
5: Well this has been a very low-key start… or at least it was until Pedro broke free! The Spanish winger plays a neat one-two with Willian before trying to whip it into the far corner. His curling long-range strike fizzes just wide of Ben Foster’s post.
3: Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 13 Premier League games played on Boxing Day (W8 D5), since a 2-4 loss at Charlton in 2003-04.
Watford vs Chelsea: Premier League latest score, goals and updates (Image: REUTERS)
WATFORD 0-0 CHELSEA
1: And without further ado… we’re underway at Vicarage Road. Ben Foster showing he’s in the Christmas mood by pulling a funny face for the cameras. He’s clearly the kind of guy that puts thought into his gifts – not just a tenner in a card!
Third and final…
19:25: And we’ve made it to the final game of a marathon Boxing Day folks.
This is my FOURTH match of the afternoon and luckily for you – I’ve saved my best banter for last…
Chelsea take on Watford looking to reclaim their top four position from Arsenal – who claimed above them with a 1-1 draw with Brighton.
The Blues arrived at Vicarage Road in February in Gracia’s first home game in charge of Watford and found themselves on the end of a chastening 4-1 defeat.
Odds on that happening again? Anyway, no time for chit-chat because we’re about to get underway. Standby…
The starting XI…
19:20: Alvaro Morata misses out again as Chelsea named an unchanged line-up from their Leicester defeat for the Premier League clash at Watford.
Spain striker Morata was expected to recover from a knee injury for the Vicarage Road trip, but was once again not named in Chelsea’s match squad.
Maurizio Sarri kept faith with the same side that slipped up 1-0 at home to Leicester on Saturday, with Eden Hazard again employed as a ‘false nine’.
Watford also named an unchanged starting XI, following on from their 2-0 win at West Ham on Saturday.
Watford: Foster, Femenia, Cathcart, Kabasele, Holebas, Capoue, Doucoure, Sema, Pereyra, Deeney, Deulofeu.
Subs: Gomes, Mariappa, Cleverley, Success, Masina, Quina, Okaka.
Chelsea XI: Arrizabalaga, Azpilicueta, Rudiger, Luiz, Alonso, Kante, Jorginho, Kovacic, Willian, Hazard, Pedro.
Subs: Fabregas, Barkley, Caballero, Giroud, Hudson-Odoi, Cahill, Emerson Palmieri.
Watford vs Chelsea: Premier League latest score, goals and updates (Image: GETTY)
Watford vs Chelsea: Premier League latest score, goals and updates (Image: GETTY)
WATFORD vs CHELSEA
Watford will have an unchanged squad for the visit of Chelsea as Will Hughes (hip), Andre Gray (leg), Sebastian Prodl (knee) and Adalberto Penaranda (foot) remain sidelined for the Hornets
Alvaro Morata should be fit for Chelsea despite struggling with a knee problem. He is back in full training and Blues boss Maurizio Sarri is hopeful he will be ready to return at Vicarage Road. Andreas Christensen (hamstring) may miss out again.
Last season: Watford 4 Chelsea 1, Chelsea 4 Watford 2
Last five league matches: Watford L L D W W; Chelsea W L W W L
Top scorers (all competitions): Roberto Pereyra (Watford) 5; Eden Hazard (Chelsea) 10
Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire)