English Premier
2019-10-05 - Watford vs Sheffield United
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 5th October 2019 - Kick Off 3pm
Watford
The only positive I can say for Quique Sanchez Flores in his return to management with Watford is that he could have asked for an easier set of fixtures with the side to build momentum. Excuses will be much thinner on the ground if Watford were to lose on Saturday as they look for a big result to take into the international break and to just ease some of the tension building at Vicarage Road.
There is no doubt that Watford had a pretty poor end to last season, but they did reach the FA Cup Final and Javi Gracia was considered very secure in his role as manager of the club. A poor start to 2019/20 ended Gracia's tenure with Watford who are bottom of the Premier League table with just 2 points earned so far this season. The 0-1-2 record at Vicarage Road in the League has seen Watford score 3 goals and concede 8.
Watford have progressed through to the League Cup Fourth Round, but wins over lower League opposition won't disguise the fact that Watford have not won any of their last 11 Premier League games and been beaten in 8 of those. They did recently snap a run of 4 home Premier League defeats in a row by coming back from 0-2 down to earn a 2-2 draw with Arsenal, while Watford have beaten Coventry City and Swansea City in the League Cup.
Troy Deeney and Isaac Success are expected to be ruled out, while Will Hughes is a doubt.
Sheffield United
There are clearly some big standards being maintained by Chris Wilder who was not looking for praise for the effort his Sheffield United team had in the 0-1 defeat to Liverpool last weekend. Instead he was focusing on the mistakes that Sheffield United made to lose the game and the players will have been worked hard in training to get those out of their performances.
For the most part Chris Wilder should be happy with the results and levels produced by Sheffield United in their return to the top flight. The Blades are 12th in the Premier League table and they have earned 8 points from a possible 21 which puts them on course for the 40 points targeted back in August. They bring in a 1-2-0 record away from home where Sheffield United have scored 5 goals and conceded 3.
Sheffield United have won 1 of their last 5 games in all competitions and 3 of their last 4 games have ended in 0-1 defeats. However those defeats have all come at Bramall Lane and The Blades are actually unbeaten in 12 away games in all competitions.
David McGoldrick is a doubt, but Billy Sharp is back from suspension.
Head to Head
Watford and Sheffield United are meeting for the first time since the 2010/11 season when both were Championship clubs.
Watford have won 3 of their last 4 at Vicarage Road against Sheffield United including consecutive 3-0 wins.
Prediction
The owners of Watford Football Club have shown they are not afraid to rectify mistakes in the managerial office and so Quique Sanchez Flores has to know the importance of a positive result to take into the international break. He has already been sacked once by Watford so Flores will understand the expectations at this club.
The results have been tough to take since he took over from Javi Gracia, but away losses at Manchester City and Wolves can be forgiven if Watford win this game. They were a touch unfortunate last weekend, but there are signs that confidence is hard to build at the moment and the first goal is going to be very important at Vicarage Road on Saturday.
Watford have created chances, but defensively they have looked very poor and it would have been a tough week on the training ground to get things a little more secure. In normal circumstances you might consider Sheffield United the right opponent as they have struggled to convert chances, but The Blades have looked sharper away from home and any defensive mistakes will be seized upon here.
Chris Wilder was not happy with the result against Liverpool last week despite the praise his players got for the performance and he will be looking for a reaction. They have a 12 game unbeaten run away from home to protect and Sheffield United will look to sit in and make it a frustration afternoon for their hosts and look to capitalise on any nerves that begin to sit in.
They have shown some resilience away from home, but Sheffield United are going to have to show some more if they are going to get a result here. I expect Watford will begin to have some things breaking their way sooner rather than later with the way they have been playing and the work on the training field should show up here as Quique Sanchez Flores puts The Hornets in a position to win the game.
Sheffield United won at Everton last time out with only a single shot on target and I do think they are lacking a little bit in the final third. One goal might be enough for them to avoid defeat, but Watford should be encouraged by their last couple of performances at Vicarage Road and I think they can be backed on the Asian Handicap which will return half the stake in the event of a draw.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Watford 2-1 Sheffield United
