SO the wait for that elusive first away win goes on.
You could have probably guessed things weren’t going to go our way after the opening ten minutes at Vicarage Road on Saturday.
Being a goal down and a man light after Jeff Hendrick’s sixth minute dismissal was never going to be the easiest of platforms to grab that first three points away from Turf Moor.
A second goal before half time – how many times must we do this – meant that even a spirited second half performance wasn’t enough to snatch what was probably a deserved point.
Again though, second half especially, there were signs that the performances on the road are getting up to the standard required and I still see – daft as it may seem – plenty of winnable away games within our remaining fixtures.
The loss of Hendrick for what looked a very poor challenge not only killed the game at Watford to a certain degree but also means we’re going to be missing the increasingly-influential midfielder for three matches.
New signing Robbie Brady, on as a second half substitute, showed some very neat flashes of what we can expect.
The club record signing looked positive during his cameo and was always looking to get the Clarets onto the front foot. Positive signs indeed.
The midfield area is looking a little bit bare as things stands though with Dean Marney injured for the long term, Steven Defour recovering from a hamstring injury and Joey Barton potentially facing a ban from the FA over gambling charges.
Plenty to ponder then for boss Sean Dyche ahead of the visit of Chelsea on Sunday.
Antonio Conte’s side look the runaway winners of the Premier League this season but, despite the issues above, you wouldn’t bet against us stifling them enough to get something.
I expect Ashley Westwood will join Brady in making his full debut at the Turf this weekend but both will have their work cut out against the Blues’ galaxy of stars.
I think being positive from the start is the best way to attack Chelsea and, as we have been at home all season, I fully expect Dyche to give it a go.
We always knew home form would be the key to survival and with one of the best home records anyway in Europe, Chelsea certainly won’t be expecting us to roll over.
We need a big atmosphere and if we can get it then just never know!
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