Prediction: Burnley vs Watford



Verdict: Watford Draw no bet

Best Odds: 4/5

Bookmaker: bet365

Newly-promoted Burnley sit dangerously close to the relegation zone after taking just one point from their last three fixtures, meaning the Clarets will be under pressure when they take on Watford on Monday evening. The Hornets are flying high on the back of triumphs over West Ham and Manchester United, and they will fancy their chances of winning at Turf Moor.

Burnley

Burnley are finding it hard to adapt to Premier League level of football after gaining promotion from the Championship, although the good news is they are still outside the bottom three. An unexpected victory over Liverpool at Turf Moor has been their only success so far, and it looks as though Sean Dyche’s men will have to raise their game if they want to survive the current campaign. The Clarets were soundly beaten by both Chelsea (0-3) and Leicester City (0-3) on the road, but it was missed opportunities at home against Swansea (0-1) and Hull City (1-1) that will hurt the most. The manager’s experiment with a five-man midfield did not work against Leicester City, meaning he will probably revert to a 4-4-2 formation and attempt to attack in-form Watford in search of a much needed victory. There will be some changes to the starting line-up as well, but it would appear as though the Clarets lack the quality needed to match a side like Watford. Taking also into account their poor form, we don’t think Burnley will be returning to winning ways ahead of the international break.

Team News

Johann Berg Gudmundsson is expected to come in for Scott Arfield, whilst Sam Vokes will be recalled, with Jeff Hendrick likely to make way.



Watford

Watford are slowly becoming an established Premier League side, and it is clear that last season’s success was no accident. The Pozzo family ties with Udinese and Granada ensure the Hornets can sign quality footballers without spending too much cash, and both Quique Sanchez Flores and now Walter Mazzarri have done really well to integrate so many new players into the squad and ensure the results remain competitive. Serie A’s favourite 3-4-1-2 formation has proved to be a good fit for Watford, who’ve got two impressive strikers in Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo, as well as high-quality full-backs Daryl Janmaat and Jose Holebas, who are crucial to this kind of system. The Dutch defender has now picked up a difficult injury, but former Malaga star Nordin Amrabat has already proved he is a worthy replacement, so we fully expect the good run to continue. After the initial struggles, the Hornets produced two outstanding performances to record comfortable triumphs over West Ham and Manchester United, and we can definitely see them piling more misery on struggling Burnley on Monday evening.

Team News

Daryl Janmaat is set for a six-week spell on the sidelines after injuring his shoulder, with Nordin Amrabat likely to replace him in the side.

Stefano Okaka is out with a thigh problem, while Younes Kaboul will again be assessed before the match due to injury.

Key Factors to Consider

• Last four meetings between Burnley and Watford ended in draw
• A total of 55 goals were scored in their last 15 meetings
• Watford won last two league fixtures, scoring 7 goals
• Burnley netted just one goal in last four outings
• Troy Deeney scored in his last two appearances

Conclusion

Burnley are in all sorts of problems at the moment and they have been pretty disappointing in all but one game this season. Watford, on the other hand, have seriously raised their form of late and we are backing them to make it three on the bounce by winning at Turf Moor.

Verdict: Watford Draw no bet

Best Odds: 4/5

Bookmaker: bet365