Aston Villa travel south to face Watford at Vicarage Road on Saturday, hoping to a halt a run of 10 straight defeats.
The reserve fixture between the two sides occurred at the end of November, with Watford winning 3-2 at Villa Park in Remi Garde’s third match in charge.
However, since then Watford have secured their Premier League future for another year as well as reaching the FA Cup Semi-Final before being beaten by Crystal Palace last weekend.
Villa on the other hand, have endured a terrible season and have only picked up two league wins from 21 league games since the reverse fixture in November.
Eric Black admitted he was happy with his side’s attacking performance last weekend, but lamented Villa’s defensive performance as his side conceded four against Southampton at Villa Park. He stated in his press conference today that he expects a ‘difficult game’ against Watford, as he looks to end Villa’s run of 10 consecutive defeats.
The team news for Villa is positive, with Ciaran Clark available for selection after missing the game against Southampton whilst Kieran Richardson will be absent due to not recovering from a calf injury in time.
There’s no question that Watford’s league form has deteriorated in 2016, which has partly been masked by their fantastic FA Cup run which was ended last weekend.
Since the turn of the year, Watford have only picked up three league games but they remain safely in mid-table, thanks to their fantastic form during the first half of the season.
It has meant that the future of Watford manager, Quique Sanchez Flores, has been called into question, with the Spaniard widely expected to leave Vicarage Road at the end of the season.
The form of Ighalo in 2016 has been another major concern for Watford, but he is expected to once again to start up front with Troy Deeney, whilst Gomes will replace Pantillimon in goal following the latter’s start in the FA Cup Semi-Final defeat to Crystal Palace.
Prediction
Watford 3-1 Aston Villa
