- Chelsea take on Watford on Monday night looking to bounce back
- Blues suffered huge disappointment in home defeat to Bournemouth
- Conte will be without Morata and Christensen for trip to Vicarage Road
- READ MORE: Chelsea slammed by Sky Sports pundit, raises huge concern over transfers
Chelsea aren’t in action until Monday night when they make the trip to Watford, but Antonio Conte has already delivered some negative team news.
The Blues suffered huge disappointment in midweek following their 3-0 defeat at home against Bournemouth, which unsurprisingly led to criticism and question marks over their top-four aspirations.
In turn, Conte and his squad will undoubtedly want to produce a response as soon as possible, but it looks as though they’ll have to do so without the services of Alvaro Morata and Andreas Christensen at Vicarage Road.
Speaking to the media on Friday, as noted by freelance injury analyst Ben Dinnery in his tweets below, Conte revealed that the pair will not recover in time to face the Hornets, leaving him with an issue, particularly up front.
It’s added by Dinnery that Olivier Giroud is in line to make his debut for the club after his deadline-day move from Arsenal, although he has been struggling with an injury of his own in recent weeks and so it remains to be seen whether or not he is able to recover in time to take his place in the starting line-up.
If Conte opts not to take that risk, Chelsea could go with Eden Hazard through the middle, but ultimately, the sooner the Blues boss gets all of his attacking options back at his disposal the better.
Morata has scored 12 goals and provided four assists in 31 games in all competitions so far this season, while Giroud contributed seven goals in 26 outings.
In turn, that’s a lot of goals and a threat up top missing, with the latter likely to be itching to get going in a Chelsea shirt.
Morata remains out. Conte hoping the medical department can solve the problem soon. “It is not a good situation for me or for the team.” Good news on Christensen, but the defender will miss Watford. A couple of other players need checked before the game. #CFC
— Ben Dinnery (@BenDinnery) February 2, 2018
Giroud is likely to feature against Watford although Conte must decide if the striker is fit enough to start following his recent hamstring injury. Emerson has played just once in the league [15 minutes] since recovering from a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament. #CFC
— Ben Dinnery (@BenDinnery) February 2, 2018