Even though countless points have been dropped in the race for the top four as of late, Chelsea still somehow find themselves lying fourth in the Premier League table and as things stand, will be returning to the Champions League next season.
While it is that league finish, that could well decide whether or not Maurizio Sarri is still in gainful employment at Stamford Bridge next season and therefore, the former Napoli manager knows that he needs to make sure his players get themselves over the top four finishing line.
Of course, Chelsea still have the backup plan of winning the Europa League up their sleeve and if they were to do so and somehow finish outside of the top four, they would still be welcomed back to Europe’s premier club competition.
At the same time, one that cannot discount the fact that there have been rumours of discontent when it comes to ‘Sarriball’ and regardless of what Chelsea’s head steward achieves, it may still mean another change of managerial personnel in the summer.
Whether that is the case or not, is something that will be decided in the weeks and months to come and before then Chelsea will need to have their full focus on the visit of F.A. Cup finalists Watford this Sunday.
While although, Chelsea will be paying their full attention to this league meeting, the same might not be the case for Watford and especially now that they’ve slipped down to tenth place in the Premier League table.
With the Hornets’ hopes of securing a Europa League place through the domestic route now rapidly diminishing, it seems as if Javi Gracia will be looking to cash in on an insurance policy of his own and one that comes in the shape of winning at Wembley.
With this in mind, it could well be that Gracia decides to rest key players in order to make sure that they are fully fresh for the clash against Manchester City on May 18th, something that may mean that Troy Deeney has a continued absence from the starting eleven.
The striker has missed the last three matches through suspension - one that came after getting sent off against Arsenal last month and although he will be itching to get back in the team, he might be given a further rest for the overall greater good.
When it comes to rest, there will be very little for Chelsea and after their 1-1 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday night, they will at least be confident of completing their Europa League Semi-final task next week.
With that tie in Chelsea’s favour, it means that they don’t have to necessarily rest key players and that will mean a recall for Belgian wing wizard Eden Hazard, who was placed on the bench during the draw in Frankfurt.
With Chelsea aiming to wrap up a top four place before the final day and against a potentially understrength Watford, then they outcome here should be a relatively routine win for the hosts on Sunday afternoon.