English Premier
2019-01-02 - Bournemouth vs Watford
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Wednesday 2nd January 2019 - Kick Off 7:45pm
Bournemouth
It was around this time of the season twelve months ago when Bournemouth really struggled and that saw weakened teams picked for the FA Cup as Eddie Howe concentrated on Premier League survival. A win on Wednesday should give the entire club a boost in confidence after a tricky spell and will also mean the Bournemouth fans could be hoping for a decent Cup run this time around.
As always the first priority is making sure The Cherries remain in the Premier League and they do go into this round of fixtures in 12th place in the table and a healthy 11 points clear of the bottom three. They get to return home after a couple of heavy away losses and Bournemouth are 5-2-3 at the Vitality Stadium this season.
Bournemouth have lost 5-0 at Tottenham Hotspur and 4-1 at Manchester United meaning they have been beaten in 9 of their last 11 games in all competitions, although both exceptions have been wins at home. That does mean Bournemouth have won 2 of their last 3 Premier League games here including a 2-0 win over Brighton in the last game here.
Nathan Ake scored at Old Trafford on Sunday, but picked up a knock and he is a doubt for this fixture.
Watford
Outside of the top six clubs in the Premier League you can see a number of teams who are streaky, but ultimately inconsistent and hard to get a read on from game to game. One of those is Watford, but the owners have to be happy with the club being amongst those fighting for a top half finish rather than battling to avoid being dragged back into a relegation scrap.
That is essentially the only goal for Javi Gracia as manager even if his own ambitions may be much higher than merely a top half finish. Having a crack at the FA Cup has to be on the mind, but Gracia will want a momentum boosting win at the Vitality Stadium as Watford look to improve their 3-3-3 record away from home and their 9th place in the League table.
Watford have only lost 1 of their last 5 games in the Premier League having come from behind to earn a 1-1 home draw with Newcastle United this past weekend. The Hornets have lost 1 of their last 4 away games in the Premier League and most recently were winning 0-2 at West Ham United.
Christian Kabasele is expected to miss out along with Sebastian Prodl and Andre Gray.
Head to Head
Bournemouth stunned Watford with a 0-4 win earlier this season.
However Bournemouth have not won any of their last 3 at home against Watford and were beaten 0-2 here last season.
Prediction
Two teams who have been used to fighting it out to avoid relegation in recent years will meet much higher up the Premier League table when playing in the first fixture of 2019.
Both Bournemouth and Watford have to be pleased with the work done in the 2018 portion of the 2018/19 season and the winner might have serious ambitions of winning the FA Cup.
This could be a fun game with neither team that convincing at the back and both having attacking players who will believe they can make the difference in this game. 4 of the last 5 between these clubs have ended with at least three goals shared out and I can see the attacking players helping to reach that number again.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Bournemouth 2-1 Watford
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
I'll back Over 2.5 Goals @ 1.72 BetVictor
