Watford v Chelsea will kick off at 19:30 tonight, Wednesday 1st December in the Vicarage Road Stadium. Referee David Coote will take charge of the tie.

For those that could not get tickets, the match will also be shown on Premier Sports ROI 2.

Although Watford has shown to be an impressive and exciting team so far in the Premier League season, Leeds United’s victory last night has dropped them into 17th place. A shock victory tonight could spring Ranieri’s team into 12th place.

The Hornets have become a team to kill the bigger clubs as they have already beaten Manchester United, Everton, and Aston Villa this year. Their major worry is that the team has been hit with injury concerns such as the keeper Ben Foster and star winger Emmanuel Dennis.

Tuchel will be looking at this tie with a smile on his face. Watford has not kept a clean sheet in 12 matches while Chelsea has the most with eight. This is the club’s best chance to open the gap between themselves, Manchester City, and Liverpool after their 1-1 draw with Man United at the weekend.

This will also be a good opportunity to pick up points on the road while some of their major players recover such as Ngolo Kanté, Mateo Kovacic, and Ben Chilwell.

This has become a one-sided affair in the last six years as the Blues have won eight of their last 11 games. There have also been two draws between the two sides while Watford has managed one solitary victory in 2018.

They most recently faced each other in July 2020 as Chelsea ran out 3-0 victors and Watford were later relegated.

Latest team news & injury update for our game against Watford. pic.twitter.com/JISCLXTnqK

— Frank Khalid (@FrankKhalidUK) November 30, 2021

Watford v Chelsea Probable Starting Teams

Watford

Formation

4-3-3

Probable Starting 11

Bachmann (GK), Rose, Troost-Ekong, Cathcart, Kiko, Sissoko, Louza, Cleverly, King, Fletcher, Hernández.

Injuries / Suspensions

Foster (Groin), Dennis (Knock), Sierralta (Hamstring), Sarr (Knee), Sema (Knee), Baah (Ankle), N’Koulou (Hamstring), Etebo (Thigh), Kucka (Knee)

Chelsea

Formation

3-4-2-1

Probable Starting 11

Mendy (GK), Rudiger, Christensen, Chalobah, Alonso, Jorginho, Saul, Azpilicueta, Pulisic, Mount, Havertz.

Injuries / Suspensions

Chilwell (Cruciate ligament), Kovacic (Hamstring), Kanté (Knee), Werner (Muscle injury)

Only two players have scored 5+ goals and provided 5+ assists in the Premier League this season:

Mohamed Salah
Emmanuel Dennis

Watford's main man delivers again. pic.twitter.com/NXJDGOyYJq

— Squawka Football (@Squawka) November 28, 2021

Watford v Chelsea Match Betting

Watford to win: 9/1

Draw: 9/2

Chelsea to win: 2/7

Score Prediction

Coming into this match, it seems like a free hit for Tuchel’s Chelsea. The Hornet’s large injury list and the Blues continued strong form seem to show that the game can only go one way. Although Watford will try to put up a fight at home expect them to still lose by a hefty margin.

Expect the game to end 3-0 to Chelsea.

Watford Vs Chelsea tomorrow, a reminder of THIS Jorginho pass.

: Courtesy pic.twitter.com/xEW01luzgT

— Olieć (@EddieOliech) November 30, 2021

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Chelsea v Man United will kick off at 16:30 on Sunday 28th November in Stamford Bridge. Referee Anthony Taylor will take charge of the tie.

For those who could not get a ticket, the match will also be shown live on Sky Sports Premier League Ireland.

Chelsea have continued their strong run since losing to Juventus in September. Tuchel’s side are now 10 games unbeaten with only two of those games being draws. They continue to sit on top of the league, three points ahead of Liverpool and Manchester City.

The squad survived well with their first bout of injuries but now with the return of Lukaku and Pulisic, the club is now missing Kovacic, Kanté, and Chilwell for the foreseeable future.

On the other side of the pitch, Manchester United have grown into a joke team in the Premier League. After a bad spell of results, they languish in eighth place, six points off a Champions League place.

Now with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer departed from the club, it looks like Ralf Rangnick will take charge. It will be interesting to see if he can get the most out of the stars as well as the young guns.

This fixture is one of the most long-awaited and hotly contested games of the year. They have faced each other 33 times since 2010 with Man United winning the slight majority with 12 victories. Chelsea have claimed 11 wins while ten games have also ended in draws.

Although this is a matchup of two of the most successful Premier League clubs, it has been a boring affair of late. Last season, both games ended in uneventful 0-0 stalemates.

Now both teams have different managers and styles so this match will depend much more on recent form.

Thomas Tuchel's numbers in his first 50 Chelsea games pic.twitter.com/Q8FGnEofms

— B/R Football (@brfootball) November 24, 2021

Chelsea v Man United Probable Starting Teams

Chelsea FC

Formation

3-4-2-1

Probable Starting 11

Mendy (GK), Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger, Alonso, Jorginho, Saul, James, Ziyech, Mount, Lukaku.

Injuries / Suspensions

Chilwell (Cruciate ligament), Havertz (Hamstring), Kovacic (Hamstring), Kanté (Knee),

Manchester United

Formation

4-2-3-1

Probable Starting 11

De Gea (GK), Telles, Lindelof, Bailly, Wan-Bissaka, McTominay, Van de Beek, Rashford, Fernandes, Sanches, Ronaldo.

Injuries / Suspensions

Cavani (Tendon injury), Greenwood (Covid-19), Pogba (Thigh), Varane (Hamstring), Maguire (Red card)

Jurgen Klopp on Ralf Rangnick: “Unfortunately a good coach is coming to England, to Manchester United! He’s a really experienced manager, built two clubs from nowhere”. #MUFC

“Man United will be organised on the pitch. That's obviously not good news for other teams”. #LFC pic.twitter.com/WMG4lHQW7r

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 26, 2021

Chelsea v Man United Match Betting

Chelsea FC to win: 4/7

Draw: 14/5

Manchester United to win: 9/2

Score Prediction

United fans might be in high spirits with the new interim managerial appointment but it will be too soon for Michael Carrick and Rangnick to make a difference in Manchester. Chelsea have the stronger team and clearer tactics and this will shine through at the weekend.

Expect the game to end 4-1 to Chelsea.

Ruthless from Chels. #CHEMCU archives. pic.twitter.com/twoY2uQ7yE

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) November 26, 2021

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Thomas Tuchel won over the Chelsea faithful by rejuvenating their squad after the departure of Frank Lampard. He led them to a third place finish in the league and even more impressively, they beat Manchester City to win the Champions League final in May.

Now, Tuchel may have won the hearts of the Chelsea fans in Ireland too. A video on the  social media platform TikTok has shown the German manager swinging around a hurley given to him by a local.

Although he did not puck the ball, he showed a good, short grip of the hurl that would impress many players.

#Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel is fitting in with the locals in Dublin as he tries his hand at hurling.

[via @swearimnotpaul]

pic.twitter.com/ThreNfFKKE

— Absolute Chelsea (@AbsoluteChelsea) July 21, 2021

The manager was clearly prepared for the sun, dressed in a long sleeve top, given the heat wave the country is experiencing.

The friendly against Drogheda will be played behind closed doors. Some of Chelsea’s main star will be missing as they are still on holidays from playing Euro 2020 earlier this month.

It is known that players such as Tammy Abraham, Ross Barkley and Christian Pulisic will still be available to play the match.

Although the squad is weakened and would be expected to try out some youngsters, they would still likely beat the League of Ireland side.

Drogheda United currently sit in fifth place in the league eight  points off the European qualifier places with only six games left to play.

Their next competitive match will be against Derry City in the FAI Cup at 15:00 on Saturday, 24^th of July.

Pre season friendly against Drogheda United this evening. Kick-off 6.30pm in Dublin. pic.twitter.com/ErLtK8CvPF

— Neil (@NWolstenholme) July 22, 2021

Chelsea begins their league campaign on the 14^th of August at home to Crystal Palace. It will be interesting to see if Tuchel borrows any tactics from the GAA to help his side next season.

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Thomas Tuchel has officially taken the reins of Chelsea manager after mounting speculation over the past few weeks – which was heightened in the last day due to the dismissal of previous Chelsea manager, Frank Lampard.

The German has signed an initial 18 month contract with the opportunity to extend.

Tuchel previously managed PSG, a post he held for two-and-a-half years before he was dismissed just last month.

Prior to managing PSG, Tuchel spent his entire managerial career in Germany, working his way up from FC Augsburg II to Mainz 05 before landing a high profile job as Borussia Dortmund manager.

“We all have the greatest respect for Frank Lampard’s work and the legacy he created at Chelsea”

Tuchel commented on his arrival at Chelsea, saying “I cannot wait to meet my new team and compete in the most exciting league in football. I am grateful to now be part of the Chelsea family – it feels amazing”.

He also expressed his admiration for Frank Lampard, the man he replaced as Chelsea manager.

Tuchel will have little time to settle in with his new squad before taking the field.

He’s set to take charge of his team against Wolves tomorrow, a team who’ve already defeated Chelsea in the Premier League this season.

Welcome to Chelsea, Thomas Tuchel! #WelcomeTuchel

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) JANUARY 26, 2021

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