Azpilicueta: Chelsea morale is low

Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta has admitted to morale being low within the Chelsea squad following a recent poor run of form.

Chelsea held a 2-0 lead over Roma at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League on Wednesday before needing to rely on a last-gasp equaliser from Eden Hazard to snatch a point after a strike from Aleksandar Kolarov, and a brace from Edin Dzeko, put Roma ahead with 20 minutes to go.

Azpilicueta, as quoted by Standard Sport after the 3-3 draw, said: "The mood at the moment is not the best.

"To come back into the game to get a point is big for the team, to show the character and that we won't give up. We had the game in our hands when we were 2-0 up, but we also had it lost when we were 3-2 down."

The result, together with a shock 2-1 defeat to bottom-of-the-table Crystal Palace and the 1-0 home loss to Manchester City, means Antonio Conte's side will face some pressure when they square off against Watford at the weekend.

Azpilicueta knows the importance of Saturday's game following their recent winless streak.

"The reality is we have gone three games without a win and we will try to get back to winning ways on Saturday," he said.

"It is true we are not in our best moment. We came into the game after two consecutive defeats in the Premier League."

Chelsea go into Saturday's clash against the Hornets with a slew of injuries. David Luiz was substituted at home to Roma with a calf problem and Conte revealed that off-season signing Tiemoue Bakayoko is suffering from pain in his groin.

The manager is also without N'Golo Kante, Victor Moses and new signing Danny Drinkwater, who is yet to make his Chelsea debut following thigh and calf issues.