This Saturday Watford travels to the Hawthorns to take on rival high-flyers West Brom. Both teams are sitting pretty in the top half of the Premier League table, Watford with 18 points and West Brom with 17. Each will be looking to take vital points against a team they will likely be vying against in May, possibly for a place in Europe.
A look at each team’s recent record shows remarkably similar form in the season so far, with both having a fairly even spread of wins, draws and losses. Ahead of a tight game at 15:00 on Saturday, we are taking an in-depth look at the two squads to try and unpick the football betting value.
A Solid Start
West Brom has made an impressive start to the season. Tony Pulis is well regarded a safe pair of hands, having helped steer the course for Stoke and Crystal Palace in becoming established Premier League clubs. His cautious, consistent approach to management has worked well for the Baggies, who are clearly flourishing under his leadership.
West Brom’s form is solid; they perform strongly against mid and lower table teams and have scored in all but three games this season. With four 1:1 draws so far, they have an ability to scrap for points when it counts. A 2:1 home win against Champions Leicester is a high point for the team.
With few injuries, Albion will be able to field a strong squad on Saturday. Saido Berahino hasn’t played a key part in the season this far, so his absence won’t be too keenly felt. Pulis will hope to draw on goals from Salomon Rondon and Nacer Chadli.
Watford has been a surprise package since rejoining the Prem last season. A promising 2015-16 season ended with a mid table finish, an FA cup semi final and the somewhat bemusing sacking of Quique Flores. Gino Pozzo, their Italian owner, appointed his compatriot Walter Mazzarri as manager in the summer. Untested in the jungle of the Premier League, Mazzarri is a manager with some pedigree in his home nation looking to prove himself on this new stage.
Watford is quickly proving themselves to be an exciting team capable of playing open, high scoring football on their day. A surprise 3:1 home victory against Man United, and, like West Brom, a 2:1 win against Leicester has shown that Watford is a team capable and willing to try to outplay more established clubs. This approach has come back to bite them; a 6:1 thrashing by the increasingly terrifying Liverpool has taught a lesson to any club thinking they can play open, progressive football at Anfield.
A match day squad could quite likely be missing two regular defensive starters in Younes Kaboul and Jose Holebas. Aside from them, Mazzarri will be able to pick from his regular starters. Captain Troy Deeney should start, a player who is a challenge for any defence to cope with.
Finding the value in a close game
It would be wise to expect a fairly even game, with both teams probing each other to find weakness in the first half. The fixtures from last season saw only one goal, resulting in a 0:1 away win for Watford, so we shouldn’t expect a high scoring game. While picking a winner between the two is tough, West Brom could edge it due to the home advantage. Paddy Power is offering 6/5 on West Brom win, and 23/10 on a draw.
However, with West Brom having recording four 1:1 draws so far this season, and both teams with an exactly 61.54% BTTS rate, a score draw seems like it could come through. Bet 365 have 1:1 at 11/2 and BTTS and draw at 7/2.
Betfair:
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Paddypower:
Back Australia to take the Ashes home with them.
Betway:
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Coral:
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Bet365:
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