The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Azpilicueta says club mood ‘not the best’
Chelsea: Conte’s side needing win against Watford to boost morale
Cesar Azpilicueta has admitted morale at Chelsea is low due to their threematch winless run.
Chelsea, since winning impressively at Atletico Madrid last month, have lost successive Premier League games to Manchester City and Crystal Palace.
Blues head coach Antonio Conte has pointed to injuries and responded to Jose Mourinho’s thinly-veiled barb after Wednesday’s 3-3 draw with Roma, telling the Manchester United boss to concentrate on his own side.
Eden Hazard’s second goal of the season earned the draw against Roma which ensured Chelsea avoided three straight losses for the first time in Conte’s stewardship.
While Azpilicueta described the battling point as “big”, the Spain defender wants a win against Watford in the Premier League tomorrow to boost confidence.
“The mood at the moment is not the best,” Azpilicueta told the London Evening Standard.
Chelsea lead Champions League Group C by two points from Roma ahead of the October 31 fixture in the Eternal City.
Hazard, who scored his first Chelsea goals of the season and his first in the Champions League since March 2015, told Chelsea TV: “I think if we want to finish the job we need to win there. We know what to do. We want to finish the group stage as soon as possible and be the first team to be qualified.”
Conte hopes David Luiz will be fit to face Watford, rather than join N’golo Kante, Victor Moses (both hamstring) and Danny Drinkwater (calf) in missing out. Tiemoue Bakayoko (groin) could also be a doubt.