Aston Villa travel to Watford on Saturday with both clubs sitting in the relegation zone. Watford are currently second from bottom, while Villa are five points ahead of the Hornets in eighteenth.
Watford are unbeaten in their two games since Nigel Pearson replaced Quique Sanchez Flores as manager.
After beating Manchester United 2-0 at Vicarage Road, Watford claimed an important 1-1 draw at Sheffield United on Boxing Day.
Gerard Deulofeu put Pearson’s side ahead at Bramall Lane, but Watford weren’t able to hold on to claim all three points.
With Norwich continuing to struggle, the draw with Sheff Utd lifted the Hornets off the bottom of the Premier League table for the first time in six weeks.
Still, Watford have a lot of work to do in order to climb out of the bottom three, and Villa have now joined them in drop zone.
Despite beating Norwich 1-0 in their previous game, Dean Smith’s side are still one point behind seventeenth-place West Ham.
Victory over the Canaries ended a four-game losing streak in the league, and now Villa will be looking to record back-to-back victories for the first time since mid-October.
However, Villa’s away form has been wretched this season. No other side in the top-flight has picked up fewer points than Villa in 2019/20.
It’s also worth mentioning that Watford have picked up the majority of their points at Vicarage Road this season, so this will give the Hornets a phycological edge on Saturday.
To make matters worse, Watford have beaten Villa in the two previous meetings between the teams. Watford scored over 2.5 goals in both of those victories, but they also conceded on both occasions.
Tyrone Mings has sat out of Villa’s last few games with a hamstring injury, and the team has clearly missed his presence at the back.
Mings could make a return to the team this weekend, but key midfielder John McGinn is set for a lengthy spell on the treatment table due to an ankle fracture.
As for Watford, star man Abdoulaye Doucoure is likely to return the starting line-up after serving a one-game ban.
Pearson will be hoping that Ismaila Sarr passes a fitness test after taking a knock to the eye on Boxing Day.
Watford appear to be a team on the up, while Villa have been sliding down the table in recent weeks.
For that reason, Forebet predicts that Watford will claim all three points on Saturday, while a clean sheet for the home side could also be on the cards.