Watford have been in fairly good form over the last few match days. The club has notched a healthy 10 points out of a possible 18 in the last 6 with wins over teams like Swansea, Newcastle and Stoke City. On Saturday, they host high flying West Ham United, a side that has taken a cumulative of 14 points in the last 6 games.
Team News
Watford
Spanish midfielder Jurado, who has featured 7 times for Watford this season, could feature in the game against West Ham after seemingly having recovered from an injury. The club still remains without the services of defender Ekstrand, who is set to return from his Knee injury only in December.
West Ham
West Ham will be without the services of destroyer Alex Song who is recovering from his knee injury, while defender Winston Reid could feature in the game after recovering from his injury.
Interesting Facts
The two sides have crossed paths on 36 occasions in the past, with West Ham winning 23 times to Watford’s 7.
While he tops the assists chart for West Ham, it is Aaron Cresswell and Dimitri Payet who have assisted the highest number of goals for the Hammers with 3 assists apiece.
Possible Line-Up
Watford
Gomes, Nyom, Cathcart, Britos, Ake, Watson, Capoue, Paredes, Deeney, Behrami, Ighalo
West Ham
Adrian, Jenkison, Tomkins, Reid, Cresswell, Kouyate, Noble, Lanzini, Payet, Zarate, Carroll
Key Men
Troy Deeney
Deeny is currently Watford’s main creative force, having bagged 3 assists so far. The forward finally got onto the score sheet last week with a sublime finish. Good in the air, industrious and having the knack for finding the back of the net make him a player to watch out for. While he might not have gotten in the goal records as much as he has done in the past, the Englishman has impressed one and all with his performance and will be hoping that the goal against West Ham is only the beginning of better things to come.
He can prove to be a handful for the opposition with his work rate and his record in the lower divisions demonstrate that he knows where the goal is. West Ham have to ensure they shut down Watford’s most important player of the evening to ensure a positive result.
Andy Carroll
The Englishman returned to scoring ways last week with a well timed header against Chelsea and we believe Bilic might hand him a starting role this weekend to keep his squad fit. He is yet to start a league game this season as he was recovering from injury. His ability in the air is well complemented by the presence of Cresswell and Jenkinson who like to run at the opposition and put in crosses.
This could well be a rare start for the 26 year old and he will be keen to ensure that it is a fruitful one.
Prediction
While Watford might be in good form on their own, West Ham are in a superior form and on the back of an impressive win over defending champions Chelsea. We expect West Ham to win the game comfortably.