Watford will look to seek their first win under their new appointment of Roy Hodgson, as Brighton & Hove Albion visit Vicarage Road Saturday afternoon for a 3PM kick-off. Watford’s recent run of form in the League has been nothing less than poor, as they are without a win in their last six games. Their midweek fixture to West Ham United in the FA Cup ended in a 1-0 defeat to the Hammers after a Jarrod Bowen winner.
As for the away side, their form of late has been impressive to say the least, as they are unbeaten in their last six league games. Similar to their opponents, the Seagulls were knocked out of the FA Cup last week as a result of a 3-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur due to a Harry Kane brace.
A victory for Watford is crucial for their relegation battle, as a win could see them climb out of the relegation zone by the end of the weekend, depending on Newcastle United’s result to Aston Villa the following day. For Brighton, they will look to maintain their good run of form as of late and stay in the top half of the table.
Brighton manager Graham Potter was asked about Watford’s appointment of manager Roy Hodgson after Claudio Ranieri was sacked last month: “I think you can see his [Hodgson’s] work, it’s a credit to him and his staff, you can see what they’re trying to do and clearly that it’s helping them. I thought they played well against West Ham and were unlucky not to get something from the game”.
Potter was also questioned about midfielder Yves Bissouma’s future: “It depends how you look at the situation. Yves is really enjoying his football with us, there’s been lots of speculation over various windows and he is still here with us. But you also have to understand that the club and him face a decision that we have to make, if there’s Champions League interest as an example, as a club, how do you compete with that?
“It’s very difficult, because it not only hampers the relationship you have with the player, it also damages your whole structure, we’re clearly not a Champions League structured team. So it’s quite complex, but we’re quite relaxed about it, there’s no stress, no problem”.
Potter confirmed that his players who were not available for selection are now available. Enock Mwepu and Jeremy Sarmiento are still unavailable for selection due to injury. For the home side, Nicolas Nkoulou and Rob Elliot are doubts for the game, with hope that Kwadwo Baah and Peter Etebo could potentially for an option.
Predicted line-ups
Watford possible starting lineup:
Foster; Femenia, Cathcart, Samir, Kamara; Kucka, Sissoko, Kayembe; Kalu, King, Dennis
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Sanchez; Lamptey, Dunk, Webster, Cucurella; Bissouma, Lallana, Moder; Gross; Maupay, Welbeck
