Not for the first time this season Watford gave one of the big boys a scare as they drew 0-0 against Chelsea under the floodlights at Vicarage Road last night.

The Hornets might have taken all three points on another evening as Etienne Capoue and Odion Ighalo squandered presentable chances.

However, the Premier League champions would have felt their claim for victory was equally compelling after seeing Heurelho Gomes thwart Diego Costa and Branislav Ivanovic after the break.

But what did we learn as the Golden Boys moved into ninth place with a draw against Guus Hiddink’s side?

Anything Pantilimon can do, Gomes can do better

Costel Pantilimon threw down the gauntlet at the feet of Heurelho Gomes with an impressive debut at Nottingham Forest on Saturday, preserving Watford's 1-0 lead late on.

However, last night’s goalless draw was the Brazilian’s riposte and he showed why he won’t give up his number one jersey without a fight.

And his timing couldn’t be better either.

With a trip to former club Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, Gomes will be eager to make a point on his first return to White Hart Lane, a ground at which he experienced both ends of the spectrum.

He was rightly named man-of-the-match at full-time after preserving Watford’s point with two stunning saves.

The first saw him tip Ivanovic’s close-range effort over with a strong palm before he flung himself to his right to push out Costa’s firm header.

Sir Alex Ferguson once said a good keeper is worth ten points a season and Gomes earnt the Hornets one without doubt.

Quique Sanchez Flores has a dilemma at centre-back

It’s by no means an original thought but the Hornets have three excellent options at centre-back currently.

Craig Cathcart remains an automatic pick but with Miguel Britos ruled out due to illness Sebastian Prodl kept his place after starting Saturday's FA Cup win at Forest.

The Austrian’s performance was as assured as we've come to expect and he gave Costa little room to operate.

Flores was unsure whether Britos would be available to face Spurs on Saturday but on the back of Prodl’s recent displays it shouldn’t be assumed the Uruguayan would walk back into the team anyway.

Prodl and Britos were paired together at centre-back in the 2-0 defeat at Southampton – incidentally the former’s last Premier League start – and it was a disastrous evening for all. Perhaps it is now time for Flores to revisit that centre-back pairing when both are available.

There will no automatic starts for Suarez or Amrabat

Flores was asked in his press conference afterwards whether the fact Watford were disappointed not to take three points against Chelsea was an indicator of how far the club have come.

It was a fair point and another excellent gauge is the fact players of the quality of Nordin Amrabat and Mario Suarez got a handful of minutes between them.

Amrabat was arguably man-of-the-match on his full debut at Forest on Saturday but had to watch on as Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo were preferred once more.

Suarez got a few token minutes as a substitute at the end. It speaks volumes for Flores’ ideals about waiting to integrate players until they know the system and his expectations of them within the team framework that Suarez wasn’t thrown straight in.

Not only is the Spanish international a high-calibre player, he is also a former charge of Flores’ at Atletico Madrid. If anyone could have avoided coach’s assimilation period you would have thought it would be Suarez.

However, Watford’s midfield were made to work hard. Saturday's trip to White Hart Lane will be the third game in a week so perhaps the 28-year-old could be handed his first start in a bid to keep the midfield fresh?

Could Jose Manuel Jurado be key against Spurs?

The little number seven once again caught the eye for the Hornets in the number ten role in which he thrived against Newcastle last weekend.

Last time Watford played Spurs, little over a month ago, Mauricio Pochettino started a trend of playing three centre-backs to counteract Ighalo and Deeney.

It worked and the north Londoners nicked a 2-1 win in controversial circumstances even though Ighalo netted.

This time Watford will have a new weapon. Jurado’s move into the middle has made the Hornets less direct and he will have to be shackled by a holding midfielder to prevent his influence.

His change in role could be key if Spurs again line up with centre-backs to neutralise the Golden Boys’ front two. It will also be interesting to see if Flores takes into account the likelihood of Pochettino using three central defenders again.