Burnley will be looking to bounce back from a humiliating 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Manchester City when they host Watford at Turf Moor on Thursday evening.
The Clarets lasted all of 22 minutes against the reigning Premier League champions before conceding the first of five goals at the Etihad Stadium.
It’s fair to say that Sean Dyche’s side were completed outplayed by Man City. Burnely managed just two shots – none on target – and only recorded 28% possession.
The heavy defeat saw the club slip out the top half of the table. Burnley’s promising run before the break was quickly ended by a ruthless performance from Pep Guardiola’s men.
Meanwhile, Watford snatched a late draw against Leicester in their first game since the restart. Ben Chilwell must’ve thought he’d won the game for the Foxes with a spectacular long-range strike on 90 minutes.
However, Watford netted a dramatic late equaliser thanks to an unlikely source. Defender Craig Dawson scored an acrobatic volley deep into added-time to earn his side a vital point.
Leicester were undoubtedly the better team on the day, but Watford limited the visitors to just two shots on target. Ultimately, a draw was probably a fair result.
The Hornets have moved onto 28 points, but they are still hovering just above the relegation zone. Nigel Pearson’s side must start turning draws into wins in order to steer clear of the bottom three.
Watford can’t afford a repeat of when these two sides met earlier in the season. Burnley claimed a comfortable 3-0 victory in the reverse fixture back in November.
Overall, Burnley and Watford have faced each other seven times in the Premier League since 2016, with Burnley claiming four wins and Watford winning two.
The Clarets have only failed to score on one occasion during that period and have kept four clean sheets along the way.
Due to contractual disagreements, Burnley were without a number of first-team players in their previous game. Forward duo Chris Wood and Ashley Barnes were also missing through injury. It’s unclear if they will be fit enough to feature.
As for the visitors, Watford will be without Daryl Janmaat and Gerard Deulofeu for the rest of the season.
Given their relegation fears, Watford are likely to put up a fight. But Burnley are expected to return to winning ways on Wednesday.
Forebet predicts that both teams will score. However, Burnley should have enough quality to claim all three points.