There are only four teams to have made it this far into the season with a perfect record, and two of them face each other on Sunday. Second place Tottenham Hotspur travel to Vicarage Road to take on fourth place Watford, with both teams hoping to collect a fourth consecutive victory. However, if history is anything to go by, it won’t be Watford’s night. In 10 years of the Premier League, they have never beaten Spurs, and have won just seven out of 45 encounters in club history. Records like that are just begging to be broken. Is Javi Gracia the man for the job, or are Mauricio Pochettino’s squad just too strong?
It would be fair to say that no one saw this coming, especially in Watford’s case. Gracia was the bookies’ favourite to be the first manager of the season to lose his job. Even with limited signings over the summer, the team seems to work well together, and after swapping out most of his squad for the Carabao Cup game against Reading midweek, he is likely to stick with the 11 men who have won their games so far. Tottenham were in a similarly shaky position, having failed to sign any new players. But any sins that fans might have accused Pochettino of committing have been erased, largely thanks to their 3-0 away win over Manchester United last weekend.
While both sides have made a strong start, Spurs look the better team. Harry Kane is continuing the goal-scoring run he began in Russia over the summer and there are few teams in the Premier League better at winning away than Spurs. Watford may have to console themselves with the fact that at least they won’t be losing their manager quite as soon as everyone expected.
Watford vs. Tottenham Predictions
Both sides come into this game with three wins from three, but I can see this one ending in a stalemate. Watford are a well-organised side and will have home advantage, while it’s a shorter turnaround for Spurs who played on Monday. It’s an intriguing clash, one that at the start of the season wouldn’t have raised pulses, but this could be something of a thriller.
Watford vs. Tottenham Betting Tips
Head to Head
- Watford are looking to win their first four league matches of a season for only the second time in their history. They previously did so in 1988/89, in the second tier.
- Roberto Pereyra has had a hand in nine goals in his last nine Premier League appearances at Vicarage Road, with seven goals and two assists.
- Tottenham Hotspur have won more PL points than any other side in 2018, with 49. They have won 15 and drawn four of their 21 matches.
- Spurs could win their first three PL away matches for the second consecutive season. They didn’t achieve this feat in any of their first 25 PL campaigns.
- Watford have a terrible record against Spurs, particularly in the Premier League as they have failed to win any of the previous 10 encounters.
- Tottenham have won seven of those, including seven of the last eight, and drawn the other three since their first meeting in the competition just under two decades ago.
- Taking all competitions into account, the Hornets have just seven wins in 45 games, last coming out on top in their 1994 EFL Cup second-round tie, although Spurs still went through 8-6 on aggregate.
Watford Team News
Javi Gracia changed his entire 11 for the game against Reading in the Carabao Cup in midweek, but is expected to revert back to the team which won it’s opening three games. Miguel Britos is a doubt for this weekend, as are Tom Cleverley, Younes Kaboul and Nathaniel Chalobah, but Gerard Deulofeu is in contention to start.
Possible Watford XI: Ben Foster, JoseHolebas, Christian Kabasele, Craig Cathcart, Daryl Janmaat, Roberto Pereyra, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Etienne Capoue, Will Hughes, Troy Deeney, Andre Gray
Tottenham Team News
Juan Foyth, Vincent Janssen, Victor Wanyama and Son Heung-min are confirmed absentees for Spurs. Erik Lamela suffered an injury in the warm-up at Old Trafford on Monday night and is also a doubt, while Ben Davies could replace Danny Rose at left-back.
Possible Tottenham XI: Hugo Lloris, Kieran Trippier, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen, Ben Davies, Eric Dier, Mousa Dembele, Lucas Moura, Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen, Harry Kane
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