The unbeaten march rolls into Watford
Chelsea, 16 league games without defeat, head to Vicarage Road with their perfect rhythm and a string of absentees in defence.
Boxing Day football has always carried a particular charge, and this year the fixture computer has handed Watford the most unforgiving present imaginable: Chelsea, top of the table, unbeaten all season, and playing with the kind of swagger that makes a 46-point haul from 16 games look almost casual.
Watford sit ninth on 21 points, their recent form a flat line of draws and defeats that has left them looking over their shoulders rather than up. Their last outing, a goalless home derby against bottom side Luton, felt like a missed opportunity, and the injury list has done them no favours. Foguinho's torn hamstring and Edivaldo Zeitel's groin problem rob the Hornets of two players who might have given Chelsea something to think about.
Chelsea, by contrast, arrive on the back of a 2-0 win in Naples on Thursday night, a result that underlined their European pedigree even as their domestic dominance continues. Their own injury list is not short – Nacho Valera, Urtzi San Martín and Jairzinho are all out – but such is the depth at the club that the absences barely register. The machine keeps rolling.
The recent history between these two sides is not kind to Watford. Chelsea won 1-0 at home in March, 4-2 in February, and 4-0 at Vicarage Road in September last year. Each meeting has felt like a lesson, and the gap between the sides has only grown since.
For Watford, the hope will be that the festive atmosphere and a packed Vicarage Road can unsettle the champions. For Chelsea, the target is simple: keep the run going, keep the points coming, and remind everyone why they have not lost a league game all season. Boxing Day, after all, is a day for miracles. Watford will need one.