Chelsea will welcome Watford to the Stamford Bridge less than 72 hours after facing Eintracht Frankfurt in their home on Thursday.
Sarri saw his team draw 1-1 which means they will have to secure the tie in the second leg which in turn might see a couple of changes to the lineup today. The Blues are in the driving seat to clinch the 3rd spot in the table after Tottenham Hotspur lost another match which sees their downward spiral continue.
A home match against Watford seems to be winnable on paper especially given the recent history these two teams have at the Bridge with the home team winning their last 7 games out of 8 in all competitions. And given the fact that Chelsea are unbeaten at home in their last 8 matches, Watford need to come up with a special display to upset the odds.
CHELSEA TEAM NEWS
Gary Cahill and Ethan Ampadu remain as doubts while Callum Hudson-Odoi and Antonio Rudiger have been ruled out for the rest of the season.
PREDICTED CHELSEA LINEUP vs WATFORD (4-3-3)
DEFENCE
Kepa Arrizabalaga will retain his place in goal. The Spaniard will look to keep a clean sheet as he looks to wrap up an interesting first season in England on a positive note.
Cesar Azpilicueta will start as the right-back while we expect a change on the opposite flank with Marcos Alonso likely to start here.
Sarri is devoid of too many options in central defence and we are likely to see the duo of Andreas Christensen and David Luiz start all the games till the end of the season.
MIDFIELD
Jorginho suffered a clash with a Frankfurt player but finished the game after being bandaged up. He should start in his role as the ‘regista’ while N’Golo Kante will lineup in a slightly advanced midfield role on the right.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek was excellent on Thursday but his services might be required again in the second leg which will result in a start for Ross Barkley against Watford.
ATTACK
Eden Hazard should come back into the starting lineup. He will start on the left while Willian is expected to edge out Pedro to start on the right wing.
Gonzalo Higuain is likely to start ahead of Oliver Giroud with the Argentine looking to end his poor loan spell at Chelsea on a happier note.
