The EFL Championship returns this weekend following the World Cup break. On Sunday, Watford welcome Hull City to Vicarage Road.
With 21 games in the books, Hull find themselves fifth from bottom in the Championship table – one point outside the relegation zone.
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At the opposite end of the standings, Watford sit fourth – nine points clear of Hull and five points shy of the automatic promotion places.
Watford have lost just six of their 21 Championship encounters this season, securing nine wins and six draws in the process.
The Hornets boast one of the best defensive records in the division, as only three sides have conceded fewer goals this term.
Watford have only suffered one defeat in their previous six Championship outings, picking up four victories and one draw along the way.
Better still, they have kept four clean sheets across their past six games – highlighting their defensive solidity. Can they achieve another shutout this weekend?
Meanwhile, Hull have only managed to win seven of their 21 league games this season – recording three draws and 11 defeats.
No team in the division has suffered more losses than Hull this term, while only two sides have registered fewer draws.
The Tigers have the worst defensive record in the Championship, having conceded a whopping 39 goals this season (1.9 goals against per game).
Not only have Hull lost three of their last five league games, but they have also lost five of their previous nine. When you look at the bigger picture, they have lost ten of their past 15.
Head-to-head: There has only been one draw across the previous 13 meetings between Watford and Hull, so we should get a winner on Sunday.
Seven of the past 12 meetings have produced under 2.5 goals, meaning the upcoming encounter isn’t likely to be a high-scoring affair.
Team news: Watford’s lengthy injury list features Daniel Bachmann, Imran Louza, Jeremy Ngaki, Tom Cleverly and Rey Manaj.
As for Hull, they look set to be without the injured quartet of Harvey Vale, Vaughn Covil, Benjamin Tetteh and Allahyar Sayyadmanesh this weekend.
Given the nine-point gap between these two sides, promotion-chasing Watford shouldn’t struggle to get the better of relegation-threatened Hull.
Forebet predicts that Watford will score over 1.5 goals on their way to victory, with the hosts also likely to keep a clean sheet.