England Premier League
Tuesday 28th December 2021
Kick off at 3pm GMT
Venue: Vicarage Road
Match Preview:
Because of the recent spate of Covid-19 infections Watford haven’t played a game for almost 3 weeks. How will this have affected the team? Well we will find out on Tuesday night but history would suggest the club will be feeling a little rusty and that is never good when you are one of the poorest sides in the Premier League so far.
The Hornets are in 17th place and come into this game having lost their last 4. The clubs last win came against Manchester United of all teams, and if they show the same quality in this game then we are easily looking at a home victory. A win here for the home side would feel like a killer blow for the bottom three who are only 2 and 3 points respectively adrift from them. However because Leeds’ game with Liverpool was postponed if Claudio Ranieri’s team can win here they would go past Leeds and into 16th place.
At home Watford have lost 5 games and won just 2 from 8, and have lost 4 from their last five at home. Their last two home games however have come against Manchester City and Chelsea. Perhaps the worry is that the club are shipping goals overall and are averaging 2 a game at home.
West Ham’s early season form seems to be over and the club have put in some lacklustre performances over the past month and do look tired now. It’s been a grand effort from David Moyes side though but slowly and surely they are slipping up and dropping points. Just before Christmas they received a hammer blow as they were knocked out of the EFL Cup against arch rivals Tottenham. At the weekend they were defeated 3-2 at home to Southampton. Those games may feel difficult to swallow given that the Hammers have beaten Liverpool and Chelsea at home this season and scored 6 goals against them. Such is football though.
It’s been 3 games and no wins for West Ham and that includes losing their last two. The club have also conceded 5 goals in their last two games.
Team News:
Watford: Adam Masina is being tipped to return for this game after his thigh injury. There are no new injuries for the Hornets but Ismaila Sarr, Christian Kabasele, Nicolas N’Koulou, Ben Foster and Peter Etebo all remain sidelined.
West Ham: Declan Rice is suspended after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season. Kurt Zouma has a hamstring injury and remains a major doubt. Aaron Cresswell was expected to return by now after his back injury and is a doubt. Angelo Ogbonna is out long term with a knee injury.
Watford vs West Ham Head to Head:
The last time the teams played this fixture in 2019 West Ham won 3-1.
Recently the Hammers have had much success against Watford and have won the last 3 meetings in a row.
It’s been 4 years since Watford beat West Ham when being the home side.
The last 3 meetings have all seen over 3.5 goals.
Watford vs West Ham Prediction:
West Ham have a lot of pressure on them now, here is a classic case of a team starting so well but as the winter months draw in they can fade away. These are the type of fixtures where a club in that position will try to bounce back from, after all Watford are having a poor season.
Away from home the Hammers have a good overall record and indeed has the fourth best in the league but again we have to go back to recent form and they have no wins on the road since Halloween. This could be a worry. However the Hammers have a really solid record over Watford and unlike their hosts they also have goals in them, so we will be backing them to get back on track.
Watford vs West Ham Betting Tips:
Draw no bet (West Ham) at 1.57
Anytime goalscorer: Michail Antonio at 2.50
Both teams to score at 1.60
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