Watford defender Christian Kabasele has said that teams like Chelsea fear playing the Hornets after his side narrowly lost 4-2 to the Premier League champions last Saturday.

Kabasele's side led at Stamford Bridge for 71 minutes after Roberto Pereyra's strike, but a Michy Batshuayi double ensured that Chelsea earned a victory.

Last Saturday's result came after Marco Silva's men drew with Liverpool at Vicarage Road on the opening day of the season, before midfielder Tom Cleverley struck to steer Watford to a 2-1 win over Arsenal.

"There is a lot of respect because we play very well. In the few games we've had teams are afraid to play against us because they know we're not an easy team to play," Kabasele told the Hertfordshire Mercury.

"This fear feeling is not here anymore because we play a lot of good games. We drew against Liverpool, won against Arsenal, we had nothing to lose [against Chelsea]. I don't know the possession but we kept the ball a lot and showed that can play free of mind.

"We were confident about our strengths, we knew that when we play like this, we can compete. We were winning the game, missed the third goal and maybe at 3-1 they couldn't come back into the game."

Watford sit sixth in the Premier League table ahead of a clash with Stoke City on Saturday.