Chelsea v Watford Betting Tips: Champions to continue their good form

After Chelsea’s title win on Friday night, this match is now a dead rubber for both teams as Watford also have nothing else to play for and will end up in and around mid-table.

Chelsea came through a tough match on Friday night to snatch a 1-0 victory at West Brom which hands them the title. It was certainly a matter of when rather than if for Chelsea as their recent form has been stunning with five consecutive wins in all competitions.

The Blues’ victory a on Friday night was typical of a championship winning side as they dug in to claim the precious three points. As they have been all season, Chelsea were incredibly solid at the back before being clinical when they had their chances in the final third. Although they are known as a defensively solid outfit, demonstrated by the fact they have kept three consecutive clean sheets, it is also worth noting that they are the Premier League’s top scorers with 76 goals.

As you would expect from a title winning team, Antonio Conte’s men have been fantastic at home with just one defeat since 16th September 2016 whilst they have also won their last three at Stamford Bridge. Goals have been a common theme for Chelsea on home soil in recent times with an average of three per game in their last three outings.

In complete contrast to Chelsea, Watford have been having a terrible time of late having lost their last four matches, putting them 15th in the table. They are technically still not safe from relegation, however, with a six-point cushion between themselves and the bottom three along with a superior goal difference, they should be okay.

Unsurprisingly for a team on such a bad run, Walter Mazzarri’s side have been ropey at the back of late with seven goals conceded in their last four. However, the fact that they have only conceded once in two of those matches is a bit of a bonus. In fact, what is probably more concerning for Watford at the moment is their lack of goals. As a team who are known for having a threat going forward, particularly in striker Troy Deeney, the fact they have failed to find the back of the net in their last four outings is worrying. Going away to Chelsea is hardly the ideal situation to improve this poor statistic.

Speaking of away form, the Hornets have been absolutely woeful on their travels not only in the last couple of months, in which they have lost six on the bounce without scoring, but also over the course of the campaign with just 12 points taken from 18 matches away from Vicarage Road.

Chelsea are of course the favourites here and, even though some will say they may take their foot off the gas after securing the title, I doubt Antonio Conte will allow such complacency to exist. ‘Chelsea to Win both Halves’ at 7/5 looks the bet. Chelsea have been ahead at half time in 64.7% of home matches this season whilst Watford have been behind in more than over 44% of their away games at the halfway stage. After a pretty easy first half for the hosts, I expect them to finish off the job with relative ease and treat their fans to another comfortable victory.

More tips can be found here.