Relegation battlers Watford take on a resurgent Southampton in the Premier League at 4:30pm on Sunday.
Watford sit one point away from the drop zone in 16th place, whilst the Saints sit nine points ahead of them in 14th.
The Saints have started strongly since the return of the Premier League, winning convincingly against Norwich 3-0 and competing well in a 2-0 loss to Arsenal, in a game where the bad scoreline did not reflect the Saints performance.
Watford did well to hold high flying Leicester to a draw in their first game back but their 1-0 loss to Burnley has put a halt to the momentum gained from the draw at the King Power Stadium.
In the team’s last six meetings, Watford have won only once back in 2017. It was a narrow 2-1 win for Southampton when the teams met earlier this season, but since then, at the time relegation-threatened Saints have peeled away from the pack whilst Watford face the very realistic proposition of a drop to the Championship.
For Watford, star attacker Gerard Deulofeu will be out for the rest of the season, as will Daryl Janmaat and Isaac Success.
Sofiane Boufal and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg both face late fitness tests for the Saints, whilst Jack Stevens and Mousa Djenepo are serving one-game and three-game suspensions respectively.
Prediction
The Saints have shown positive signs in their last two games, whilst Watford look like a team on the ropes. I believe the Saints will come out of this one with a 2-0 win as their attacking talent and good form up against a poor Watford side will be too much for Nigel Pearson’s men to handle.
Match Preview written by Luke Robinson.
Comments