Chelsea manager Antonio Conte has given his players three days off in the wake of their heavy 4-1 defeat at the hands of Watford on Monday night.

The Premier League champions were reduced to 10 men in the first half at Vicarage Road before conceding three times in the final six minutes to suffer a second successive defeat by a three-goal margin - the first time that has happened since 1995.

The result ramped up the pressure on under-fire boss Conte, although Chelsea's board are understood to have decided against sacking the Italian for the time being.

Chelsea will look to bounce back when they host bottom-of-the-table West Bromwich Albion next Monday, and Conte has opted to give his players an extended rest prior to that match in order to recharge their batteries.

The Blues have won just two of their last 10 matches across all competitions and take on Barcelona, Manchester United and Manchester City in successive matches from February 20.

Conte's decision to give his players time off is an attempt to avoid fatigue before that run, with Chelsea having played 41 matches already this season whereas they had featured in only 29 at the same stage of last season.