Watford welcome Derby County to Vicarage Road in Friday Night Football from the Sky Bet Championship.
Victory will see Watford temporarily move up to third, although a massive seven goal winning margin would see the Hornets rise to second until mid Saturday afternoon at earliest.
Derby meanwhile can climb as high as 15th with a win.
Team News
Troy Deeney is ruled out for Watford with an Achilles injury, which has kept him out of their last two matches.
Jeremy Ngakia (hip) is back in training but Marc Navarro (hamstring) is absent alongside Ben Foster (finger), Tom Dele-Bashiru and Christian Kabasele (both knee).
Derby could welcome Patrick Roberts back into the starting eleven after the winger was utilised as a substitute during Tuesday’s midweek win at Wycombe.
Tom Lawrence (ankle), Jack Stretton (groin), Jordan Ibe (personal), Curtis Davies (Achilles) and Krystian Bielik (knee) are ruled out.
Stat Attack
- Watford have won just one of their last five meetings against Derby (W1, D1, L3).
- Derby have won four of their last six trips to Vicarage Road (W4, L2).
- Six of Watford’s last eight yellow cards at Vicarage Road have come after half-time.
Prediction
Watford come into this game in strong home form with one defeat in their last seven at Vicarage Road and are on a season-best run of three clean sheets, so will certainly be a tough side for Derby to break down because confidence is clearly building within this Hornets team under Xisco’s management.
Derby meanwhile were made to work for their two victories in the last week against tough opposition at both ends of the table, so will certainly be up for this game, because this is a huge chance to boost their survival hopes and build for next season as promotion is extremely unlikely this season.
I however don’t see Wayne Rooney’s Rams getting a win here because Watford are finding their best form again, although a draw would be their best bet given their recent away form in this fixture unless can take their chances well but Xisco’s Hornets should just have too much.
Prediction: Watford 2-1 Derby
Result: Watford 2-1 Derby