GW 13: Watford vs. Liverpool

Watford against Liverpool is definitely a clash to look out for and is one of the best games of the weekend. With Liverpool unbeaten so far and with Watford having an exceptional season at the moment we could be in for a thriller of a match. The clash is even further intensified by the fact that Watford are at home where they have won 4 and lost 2 in the PL. This is a decent record especially considering that they have beaten Spurs at their home ground as well as having a plus 7 goal difference. Liverpool on the other hand, have been almost as solid when they’ve been away as they have been when at home winning 5 and drawing 1 at home,  winning 4 and drawing 2 away. Watford have dropped off in form recently, which was expected after having such a surprisingly good start, and have only won 2 and drawn 1 of their previous 6 matches and Liverpool will need to take advantage of this dry spell. Although they are on the decline they still sit in 7th place level on points with Manchester United.

Watford are having an incredible season under Javi Gracia at the moment and will be looking to extend their good form against this unbeaten Liverpool side. Watford have actually been very solid in defence this season and have only conceded 14. This ranks 6th best in the division ranking them ahead of teams Arsenal, Man United and Bournemouth. Watford are not a very possession based side and currently rank 12th in the league for average possession. This is most likely largely because of their poor passing accuracy which is at 74.1% which is 16th only beating teams Burnley, Brighton, Newcastle and Cardiff. These statistics show that Watford are a counter-attacking based side. When watching them this is apparent. Their fullbacks are usually used to initiate these attacks as both Holebas and Femenia are very good ball carriers. Watford usually use a very central 4-2-2-2 formation so that their fullbacks can get forward.

Much of this counter-attacking style relies on Abdoulaye Doucoure who controls the midfield and often dictates the tempo of Watford’s games. He is also a very important defensive figure for the side. His involvement is highlighted by his stats. He has made 36 tackles and interception in the PL so far as well as making 55 passes a match and grabbing 4 assists in the process. These numbers are that of a very elite defensive midfielder and he is already showing signs of being one of the Premier League’s best at only 25 years old. Kabasele is also another crucial defensive player for Watford and his defensive contribution will be much needed against this Liverpool side. He has made an outstanding 35 tackles and interception from 9 games he’s played so far. As well as this he has also made 47 clearances and has won 58% of his duels. Both of these players will be incredibly important as Liverpool have a few incredibly dangerous attacking players in the likes of Salah, Mane, Firmino and Shaqiri.

Liverpool have endured a scintillating start to the season and are currently in 2nd place unbeaten after the first 12 matches. They have become a much more balanced side this season combing both possession play with their energetic pressing and counter attacking style. Their defence has massively improved this season and they are only letting in a goal every 216 minutes compared to 1 every 90 minutes last season. This is a very clear improvement largely up to signings Van Dijk and Allison as well as the improvements of Gomez, Robertson and Alexander-Arnold as well as a change in tactics to a more conservative style. This change in style has seen them drop in form on the attacking side of things and they are scoring 1.92 goals a match this season compared to 2.21 last year. In this match they’ll be looking to build on their last match against Fulham where they came out on top quite comfortably to win 2-0. They dominated the match with 73% as well as out shooting Fulham 21 to 8 with expected goals having the match at 2.0 to 0.57 in Liverpool’s favour.

The main man for Liverpool as of late has been summer signing Xherdan Shaqiri. After not starting very often at the beginning of the season he has become the main source of creativity for Liverpool in recent matches. In his last 4 Premier League matches he has only managed 2 starts but has scored 2 goals and got an assist. Across the whole of the season he has now managed 2 goals and 2 assists in only 305 minutes meaning he is contributing to a goal every 76.2 minutes in the Premier League. If he continues this recent form he’ll definitely pose a threat to this Watford defence. Of course, Salah will be another danger man as he has a fantastic record against Watford. In his 2 appearances against Watford he has managed 5 goals and 1 assist. You can’t expect him to continue this flying form but you would think that he might grab a goal in the match. Van Dijk is the final Liverpool player to watch out for. He has been incredible all of this season and has been one of the main reasons for Liverpool’s defensive solidity. Because of him Liverpool have only let in 5 goals in the Premier League never letting in more than 2 goals in a Premier League match. He has made 13 tackles and 14 interceptions which is very good for a side who average 55.5% possession in the league. His contribution in the match should be vital as Watford have a number of key attackers.

Neither team is struggling too badly with injuries although Watford face a few problems coming into this match. Watford currently have injuries to Prodl, Janmaat, Hughes and Cleverley. The main issue out of this bunch is Will Hughes who has been an instrumental component to their campaign up to this point. Luckily for Watford the injury doesn’t look too bad and most of the reports expect him to be back for the match on Saturday. Prodl and Cleverley’s injuries won’t affect the squad that much as they barely start for the squad only playing a combined 13 minutes of Premier League action so far. Janmaat is a bit more of a problem than these 2 but Femenia has slotted in very nicely as of late and he shouldn’t be missed too much. Liverpool might have finally passed most of their recent injury woes as almost every player is back fit. The only players who are still doubts are Jordan Henderson and of course Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who is suffering from a long term knee injury. Henderson is only a doubt for this match and it is still likely that he may be fit for the match squad.

With both teams looking good and ranking inside the top 10 the match is set to be an interesting one. Liverpool have a good record against Watford and haven’t lost a game against them in their last 5 meetings with 4 wins and a draw in this period. The last time the two clubs played Liverpool thrashed the Hornets 5-0 but we expect a different story this time with Watford’s renewed form. The most interesting component about the match will be the fact that both teams are based around counter-attacking football and it will be intriguing to see which team sits on the ball more and which team is able to exercise their strategy more effectively. Based on Liverpool’s current form I’m going to have to predict a 2-0 Liverpool victory.