Chelsea v Watford: Two sluggish sides could turn up to the party

Chris Graham (@chrisgraham79) previews the clash between champions Chelsea and Watford on Monday night.

Chelsea v Watford | Monday 20:00 | Sky Sports 1

This match is one for the Chelsea fans and players. There’s little here for the neutral or punter to get excited about. The Blues wrapped up the title on Friday night with a gritty 1-0 win over West Brom. The word grit has been their watchword all season, but will it be maintained here?

After their very full-on celebrations on Friday night this match certainly comes very quickly for Chelsea. Did they go out on the piss on Friday night? Will their bodies be not quite in peak position after the bonhomie?

It’s hard to say, but there are three positives in their corner. Firstly, their manager seems like an animal who would be unwilling for his men to drop off the pace. Secondly, Conte may refresh his team a little and give others a chance to shine on this special night for the club and thirdly, they’re playing Watford, who also played on Friday night.

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There is a (sort of) precedent to this situation and that came in 2015. Chelsea won the league in early May and had three games left to play. In those three games they dropped five points, losing heavily to West Brom and drawing with Liverpool. This feels different though, there’s a guy in charge that the players don’t want to let down.

Chelsea keen to go out on a high

The fact it’s the final game at Stamford Bridge is also a big plus for the club. They won their final home game in 2014/15 and will be eager to do so again as Blue Is The Colour and The Liquidator boom out the speakers.

As for Watford, well it’s Watford isn’t it. They’ve stayed up but look likely to be heading for a fifth straight defeat in the league. A nation shrugs it’s shoulders.

Chelsea are 1/4 to win this game, so what’s the angle? I never play Goalscorer bets but I was quite interested in Friday’s hero Michy Batshuayi scoring. How can you back him at Evens though when he’s hardly contributed all season?

I should stress, this isn’t a match I’ll be betting on or have a strong view on. The only bet that looks a bit bigger than it should is the Under 2.5 Goals at 7/4.

When you factor in that Watford haven’t scored since the 15th April and since January away from home plus the fact Chelsea may be sluggish then 7/4 looks big.