Kick Off: 1500, 01/04/2017
Stadium: Vicarage Road
Watford have picked up just one point from their last four Premier League games but appear to have a great chance of getting back on track when entertaining Sunderland.
The Hornets haven’t performed that badly during a tough run of fixtures and will see this as a golden opportunity to close in on top-flight safety.
We’re backing Walter Mazzarri’s side with our Watford vs Sunderland predictions and reckon 4/5 for a home win is the way to go.
Trueform tips: Our ratings suggest Watford and Sunderland are evenly matched on recent results, but we just feel that the Hornets have more scope for improvement after coming through a tricky schedule.
A Look At Watford’s Betting Odds
Watford could be forgiven for dreaming of a top-10 finish after back-to-back wins over Arsenal and Burnley, but they just haven’t quite had the rub of the green since then.
A 2-0 defeat at Manchester United was pretty comprehensive, but they then led for a long time when drawing 1-1 with West Ham and played their part in a cracking encounter before finishing up on the wrong end of a seven-goal thriller versus Southampton.
Troy Deeney’s own goal in a 1-0 loss at Crystal Palace was symbolic of how lady luck deserted the Hornets before the international break, with Mazzarri insisting there had been a foul in the build-up to that deciding incident.
A fortnight off should have given Watford chance to regroup and return refreshed for the run-in, though, so we like 9/5 for them to be leading at half-time and full-time after a series of fast starts this term.
A Look At Sunderland’s Betting Odds
Sunderland picked up their first point in four matches when drawing at home to Burnley, but they again drew a blank in front of goal at the Stadium of Light and have now played for over 400 minutes without hitting the back of the net.
Billy Jones was the biggest culprit against the Clarets when he headed a glorious chance wide from four yards out and it seems that if you keep Jermain Defoe quiet, then the Black Cats have no Plan B, with the England striker netting 14 of their 24 goals this term.
“We missed some big chances, which maybe we’ve not been getting in other games, but you’ve got to take them,” moaned David Moyes. “The players gave their all but we lacked a bit of quality at times – in all areas.”
Watford can be backed at 19/10 to win to nil.
Additional stats
Last result:
Crystal Palace 1-0 WATFORD
SUNDERLAND 0-0 Burnley
Head-to-head: Sunderland 1-0 Watford, Watford 2-2 Sunderland, Sunderland 0-1 Watford, Sunderland 4-2 Watford, Watford 1-1 Sunderland
