Watford vs Sheffield United
Date: 05/10/2019
K/O: 15:00
Venue: Vicarage Road
Referee: Andre Marriner
Bottom of the league Watford host Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United as the Hornets try to resurrect their sorry start to the season.
The title of this fixture may not be the most exciting, but given the circumstances and the quality on the pitch, it could prove to be an action-packed game. Watford are in serious trouble this campaign and are still yet to actually win a game of football in the league this season. In contrast, their opposition this weekend have hit the ground running, and since being promoted from the Championship sit 12th in the table.
Last time out Watford fell in a 2-0 defeat to Wolves, and the week before was their eight nil thumping dished out by City. It’s safe to say that the Hornets are on a slippery slope at the bottom of the table, and the last time they scored in a Premier League match was against Newcastle back in August.
The Blades have looked nothing short of electrifying each week. A team filled with passion and determination can’t go wrong in the Premier League, however they must be wary of their opponents underlying quality this weekend. Last season, Watford finished in a similar position to where the Blades are now and had a fairly successful season in reaching the FA Cup Final. Off the back of last season it’s evident that the Watford side is filled with quality, however their big names such as Pereyra, Capoue and Deulofeu need to step forward and produce some inspiration to get their team going again.
Sheffield have only lost three out of the seven games played so far – Liverpool, Leicester and Southampton – and have conceded a mere seven goals, which is the same as Man City. Going forward they haven’t looked too bad either, which is promising as Watford have conceded the most in the league with a negative goal difference of -16. So this weekend will prove to be another tough test for the Hornets.
The return of Quique Sánchez Flores to Watford hasn’t quite had the desired effect. He was axed by the club in 2016 which at the time seemed to be a strange decision, considering the standard of football he had played at Watford.
Now, two seasons later and Watford are desperate for someone to help rectify their season. One thing that Quique Sánchez Flores must try and do is plug Watford’s leaky defence as the Hornets aren’t too bad going forward and have plenty of quality in front of goal. It’s just a case of taking their chances and being significantly more disciplined at the back. In order to get any points against Wilder’s team, Flores must reignite his dressing room and send his team out in the mind-set that they can avoid relegation this season.
Team News
Watford
Watford are without striker Troy Deeney this weekend as the Englishman is still recovering from a knee injury and is expected to be out for at least another month. Fellow strike partner, Isaac Success is also side-lined – he is out with a groin injury and isn’t expected to return for some time.
Flores may choose to wield the same team that suffered defeat to Wolves last week, which would mean another week on the bench for Kabasele and Janmaat.
Sheffield United
Chris Wilder has ruled David McGoldrick out of this weekend’s clash with a groin injury, but Billy Sharp is eligible to play after completing his suspension.
Strikers Sharp and Lys Mousset are yet to start this season, but Wilder has said that a decision to get Mousset in the starting XI is “getting closer and tighter by the game”. Wilder also noted how Oli McBurnie and Callum Robinson “did well” against Liverpool last Saturday so it’s likely that those two will get the nod up front.
Wilder hasn’t made many changes to his defence as of yet, with the only major change being forced by an injury to John Fleck. Muhamed Besic, Kieron Freeman, Phil Jagielka, Luke Freeman, Ben Osborn and Ravel Morrison won’t get a start for a while after Wilder’s regular eleven put in a solid performance against Liverpool last week.
Predicted Starting XIs
Watford (4-2-3-1): Foster; Femenía, Dawson, Cathcart, Holebas; Doucouré, Capoue; Hughes, Cleverley, Deulofeu; Gray
Sheffield United (3-5-2): Henderson; Basham, Egan, O’Connell; Baldock, Lundstram, Norwood, Fleck, Stevens; Robinson, McBurnie
Score Prediction: Watford 2 Sheffield United 1
Despite their abysmal start and shocking goal difference, if Watford stand any chance of resurrecting their season it needs to begin this weekend. Sheffield are carrying huge momentum, but have just been promoted and are still new to the Premier League. More so, they are also coming off the back of the defeat to Liverpool last week, which would have been an intense and tiring match. I expect Watford to give it their all in order to try and get their first win of the season.
