Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Tonight will see the coronation of the champions as they play at Stamford Bridge for the first time since clinching the Premier League title on Friday night after victory at The Hawthorns against West Brom. This evening sees the homecoming for Antonio Conte’s men as they play host to a struggling Watford side.
Chelsea left it late on Friday and were certainly made to pay for their victory against Tony Pulis’ side. It turned out to be a somewhat unlikely hero who got the winning goal but it seems if the £33m spent on Michy Batshuyai finally looks like something nearer resembling money well spent.
It looked as if Chelsea were going to be frustrated and that the title race would roll on to after the weekend but Antonio Conte proved his worth and showed exactly why he has managed to win the Premier League at the first time of asking.
It was his double substitution of Batshuyai and Willian to replace Eden Hazard and Pedro which changed the complexion of the game. By giving Chelsea more of a physical presence it allowed them to put more pressure on the West Brom backline and as we saw the tactical change reaped huge dividends.
With the title in the bag it does mean that Antonio Conte can afford to rest his key players especially with the prospect of the double still looming large. Do not be surprised if wholesale changes are made for this evenings tie and Batshuyai could very well be rewarded with a start against Watford.
Hornets boss Walter Mazzari is undoubtedly under pressure as his side have lost their last five matches, a run which has seen them slip to 16th in the table after they were leapfrogged by Crystal Palace after their 4-0 win over Hull yesterday lunchtime.
It is a worrying run for Watford and their fans will no doubt be thankful that they are safe from the drop and do not have to worry about any last drama because on current form you would have to make them heavy favourites to be relegated.
Relegation may well have been staved off but Walter Mazzari is a heavy favourite to be the next Premier League manager to lose his job. It has been a very meek end to the end to the season and you do have to wonder how much patience an already trigger happy set of club owners have.
Watford offered little in their defeat to Everton on Friday night. A statement that has been written all too many times when on the road this season, they have to be thankful for their relatively decent form at Vicarage Road otherwise the situation could have been all the more worse.
Manager Mazzari will have to hope this compatriot Conte does him a favour and names a much changed lineup for the head to head clash later this evening. That said I cannot see the former Italy boss throwing Mazzari a lifeline as there is no real love lost after their days at the helm of Juventus and Inter Milan respectively.
Even if Chelsea were to make changes then they will still have more than enough in their locker to dispose of this hapless Watford side. The title race may well have been run but that is not to say there will be any let up. Chelsea to show their champions class with a comfortable home win.
