Watford meet Wolverhampton Wanderers in a decisive Premier League clash which will see one team’s top seven hopes potentially dealt a fatal blow.
Just a single point separate these sides in eighth and seventh respectively but with Everton and Leicester breathing down their necks, victory is ever so crucial for both teams if are to secure a potential Europa League spot.
Team news
Embed from Getty ImagesWatford have no fresh injury concerns as Troy Deeney serves the last of a three match ban.
Jose Holebas (hamstring) and Tom Cleverley aren’t ready to return to the matchday squad but could be available for next Sunday’s trip to Chelsea.
Sebastian Prodl (knee) and Domingos Quina (shoulder) are both ruled out, with Quina definitely unavailable until next season.
Wolves have no fresh injury concerns for the fourth consecutive match but Nuno Espirito Santo will rotate his squad as they play their third match in seven days.
Form
Both teams have taken seven points from their four league games so far this month with Wolves managing one clean sheet compared to Watford, who haven’t even kept a shutout since mid February when beat QPR 1-0 in FA Cup Fifth Round.
Stat Attack
- Watford have lost just one of their last six meetings with Wolves (W3, D2, L1).
- Victory for Watford would mark the first time that they have beaten Wolves in three consecutive meetings across all competitions, let alone a single season.
- The only previous top flight meeting in this fixture at Vicarage Road came in May 1984 and finished goalless.
- Watford’s five goals against Wolves this season have come from four different goalscorers with Gerard Deulofeu the only player to score twice, doing so just weeks ago in their FA Cup Semi-Final meeting.
- Watford’s Ben Foster and Rui Patricio of Wolves have both faced four penalties with Foster saving one to Patricio’s zero.
Prediction
This is an interesting clash because Watford could lose this and miss out on seventh but get Wolves back by snatching away the last European spot by winning the FA Cup in a few weeks time.
I am therefore expecting a tough match because both teams need the win for the same reason and if anything like their meeting a few weeks ago at Wembley, this should be a cracker.
Ultimately, I am going for a draw here because these two are so evenly matched but if we get a winner, expect Gerard Deulofeu to be involved.
Prediction: Watford 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Jake predicts: Watford 2-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Result: Watford 1-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers