Having climbed of the relegation zone last weekend, Watford look to continue their improved form as they host Tottenham Hotspur at Vicarage Road.
A home win will temporarily move Watford up to 14th ahead of the afternoon’s games, whilst Tottenham look to go sixth for at least a few hours.
Team news
Embed from Getty ImagesWill Hughes is one of a few players close to making a first-team return but won’t be ready for this weekend, as he continues to recover from a hip injury.
Kiko Femenia (hamstring) however is set to be the first to return although he is ruled out for this match at least.
Tom Cleverley (heel), Danny Welbeck (thigh), Daryl Janmaat (knee) and Sebastian Prodl (calf) all remain ruled out.
Tottenham have no fresh injury concerns after defeating Middlesbrough in midweek, as Hugo Lloris and ben Davies near returns from respective elbow and ankle injuries.
Tanguy Ndombele (groin), Harry Kane (hamstring) and Moussa Sissoko (knee) remain ruled out.
Form
Watford enter this match with no defeats in their last five league games (W4, D1), and have conceded just once in their last four home league matches.
Tottenham have earned just four points from their last five league games (W1, D1, L3) whilst losing their last two by 1-0 defeats against Southampton then Liverpool, although they have taken seven points from their last five league trips (W2, D1, L2).
Stat Attack
- Watford have taken just seven points from 13 previous Premier League (PL) matches against Tottenham (W1, D4, L8), with just one of those seven points coming away from Vicarage Road.
- Both teams have scored in five of their six PL meetings at Vicarage Road.
- Watford’s last five goals in this fixture have all come from different goal-scorers.
- There is yet to be a penalty in this league fixture for either team.
- Troy Deeney has scored two penalties in 11 league appearances for Watford this season, compared to one penalty in 32 appearances last season.
Prediction
Watford must view this as a huge game because a win here coupled with defeat for Aston Villa certainly would give Nigel Pearson a headache, as they face two games across two competitions within 48 hours of one another of which the first is against Villa on Tuesday.
Tottenham meanwhile managed to produce a dominant performance against Middlesbrough in midweek, despite conceding once again whilst using many first-team regulars including; Paulo Gazzaniga, Jan Vertonghen and Lucas Moura in the starting eleven.
I therefore am concerned about Spurs’ depth given how quickly the fixtures are coming, which could suit Watford if they can produce another dominant display like they have done in recent weeks.
Prediction: Watford 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
Result: Watford 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur