Christian Pulisic and Willian bossed the last two games for Chelsea– Wednesday night’s loss at West Ham United, and last Thursday’s win over Manchester City which handed Liverpool the league title. Pulisic has been on a tear since play resumed, and the young American is starting to come close to realizing his potential now.
Scoring wise, he’s the most productive player per 90 minutes for Chelsea, and maybe he’ll keep it up on Saturday, his native country’s 244th birthday, when Chelsea host Watford FC. Happy Fourth of July/Independence Day everybody!
Pulisic scored in the reverse fixture (as did Tammy Abraham) which the Blues won, so this is a match-up favorable to the most expensive American footballer in history for sure.
Chelsea Starting XI Prediction vs Watford (4-2-3-1):
Arrizabalaga; Azpilicueta, Zouma, Christensen, Palmieri; Kante, Jorginho; Willian, Mount, Pulisic; Giroud
Look for some changes here, to get some kind of squad rotation; and to try and improve things at the back.
Chelsea FC vs Watford FYIs
Kickoff: July 4, 8pm, Stamford Bridge
Team news for both sides: go to this link
Form Guide:Chelsea LWWWW Watford LWLDL
Odds: Chelsea win -235 Watford win +750
Reverse Fixture: Chelsea 2, Watford 1
Position: Chelsea are fourth, up two points on surging Manchester United. Watford are 17th, the final safety position, but only by a single point.
Prediction: Chelsea 3, Watford 2
I really think this is a great match-up for the Blues, who will certainly be on upset alert now after having just been shocked at West Ham. Perhaps the Hornets are catching them at just the wrong time.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly contributes to WGN TV, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Now and SB Nation.
You can follow Banks, a former writer for Chicago Tribune.com, on Twitter and his cat on Instagram.
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