Liverpool’s unbeaten run is at stake when they travel to Vicarage Road to take on 7th place Watford on Saturday. This fixture was a thriller last season with a 93rd minute Miguel Britos equalizer securing a share of the spoils for the Hornets in a 3-3 draw. On Saturday, Liverpool need to blow away any cobwebs from the break and hold on tight to Manchester City’s coat-tails while Watford will aim to continue the superb form that has seen them climb to 7th position on the table.
The Hornets made a blinding start to the season taking maximum points from their first 4 games to register their best start to a season since they returned to the top flight in 2014/15. They dropped their first points of the season against Manchester United in the 5th EPL game – a 1-2 loss. Since then the team has faltered a bit winning only 2 games in back-to-back victories against Wolves and Huddersfield. At home, Watford have been pretty impressive winning 4 out of their 6 games. Asides that defeat to United, the other loss was a disappointing 0-4 defeat to Bournemouth in week 8.
Watford have a nagging issue of scoring goals in recent weeks despite creating a lot of them. Over their last 5 games, their attacking style has seen them register an average of 1.57xG and 1.21xGA which is impressive for a team of Watford’s stature but they have not converted enough. Ex-Juventus player Robert Pereyra is having the best form of his Watford career with 5 goals in the EPL so far while 25-year midfield engine Abdoulaye Doucoure is joint 4th in Premier League assists log with 4 assists to his name. Their defence is also limiting oppositions to a total of 124 chances created and 40 on target which is the 4th best on both accounts in the league.
Liverpool have been very impressive this season and are yet to lose a game in the league. They are living up to the tag of being the only team capable of pushing Pep’s City all the way. The Reds have 30 points from 12 games just 2 points shy of City. Jurgen Klopp’s side may have be stuttering in the Champions League but they are doing the business in the league. They are the 4th highest scoring side in the league with 23 goals but boast the joint best defence with only 5 goals conceded in the league so far.
The Reds have won 4 and drawn 2 from their last 6 away games and have conceded just four times on the road. They have registered a clean sheet in 33% of their away games meaning Klopp will not be overly worried about conceding too many at Vicarage Road with the array of creative and attacking players at his disposal. Mohammed Salah has 5 goals and 1 assist in 2 EPL games against Watford while Roberto Firmino also has 4 goals and 3 assist in his last 5 games against Watford.
Team News
Etienne Capoue returns from suspension for the Hornets but Sebastian Prodl and Tom Cleverly are still out injured while Daryl Janmaat and Will Hughes are doubtful but could yet play.
Oxlade Chamberlain is a long-term absentee while Jordan Henderson is a slight doubt owing to a thigh injury. Naby Keita returned in a stoppage time appearance in Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Fulham before the international break.
Verdict
Javi Garcia’s side are a tough side to crack at Vicarage Road as they have shown in the 2-1 home win over Spurs earlier on and while Liverpool have only won 1 of their previous 5 away games in all competitions, they should still have enough to scrape through at Watford. Klopp will have an eye on the PSG game in the Champions League but that shouldn’t deter from a victory here. A win for the Reds is the likely outcome.
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