MX23RW : Thursday, April 25 05:49:16| >> :120:77888:77888:

Preview: Watford vs. Leicester City - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Premier League clash between Watford and Leicester City, including team news and predicted lineups.

Watford will be looking to return to winning ways in the Premier League when they welcome third-placed Leicester City to the Vitality Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Hornets beat Liverpool 3-0 in their last home fixture but suffered a 1-0 defeat at Crystal Palace last weekend and remain locked in a battle to stay in England's top flight.


Match preview

Watford's Troy Deeney applauds fans as he celebrates at the end of the match on February 29, 2020© Reuters

A record of six wins, nine draws and 14 defeats this season has brought Watford 27 points, leaving them only outside of the relegation zone on goal difference with nine games of the campaign left.

There are only four points between 19th-placed Aston Villa and 15th-placed Brighton & Hove Albion, while the former have a game in hand over the teams around them, making for a very interesting battle.

The Hornets famously became the first team to beat Liverpool in this season's Premier League when they recorded a 3-0 victory at Vicarage Road at the end of February.

Nigel Pearson's side were brought back down to earth last Saturday, though, as a 1-0 defeat at Palace meant that they remain firmly in trouble, largely due to their struggles in the first half of the season.

Watford have actually won their last three home Premier League matches against Leicester, however, and will certainly fancy their chances of causing the Foxes some problems in Saturday's early start.

Jamie Vardy celebrates scoring for Leicester on March 9, 2020© Reuters

Leicester did not win a Premier League match in the month of February, drawing with Chelsea and Wolverhampton Wanderers before losing to Manchester City and Norwich City.

Brendan Rodgers's side returned to winning ways against Aston Villa on Monday night, though, putting four unanswered goals past Dean Smith's team to strengthen their grip on third.

The Foxes are now five points clear of fourth-placed Chelsea and just four points behind second-placed Manchester City, although the reigning champions do have a game in hand.

On Thursday, during his pre-match press conference, Rodgers revealed that three first-team players had been placed in self-isolation after showing symptoms of coronavirus.

The 47-year-old insisted that those in question had been "kept away from the rest of the squad", though, and this match is still scheduled to go ahead despite concerns over the outbreak.

Watford Premier League form: LLDLWL
Watford form (all competitions): LLDLWL

Leicester Premier League form: WDDLLW
Leicester form (all competitions): DDLLWW


Team News

Leicester City's James Maddison pictured on February 27, 2020© Reuters

Watford will be without Gerard Deulofeu for the remainder of the season due to a serious knee injury, while full-back Daryl Janmaat is again expected to miss out once again.

Pearson could decide to select the same XI that started at Palace, meaning that Danny Welbeck, Andre Gray and Ignacio Pussetto are again likely to be on the bench.

Roberto Pereyra has stepped into the position recently vacated by Deulofeu and that should again be the case on Saturday afternoon.

Rodgers confirmed on Thursday that key defender Ricardo Pereira would miss the rest of the season with a knee injury, meaning that James Justin could get the nod at right-back for this match.

Ben Chilwell is also expected to recover in time for the contest, but James Maddison has picked up a calf problem and will be on the sidelines for the next two weeks.

Marc Albrighton and Harvey Barnes are both expected to keep their spots in the wide areas, while Jamie Vardy and Youri Tielemans should return to the side having appeared off the bench against Villa.

Watford possible starting lineup:
Foster; Kiko, Kabasele, Cathcart, Masina; Capoue, Hughes; Pereyra, Doucoure, Sarr; Deeney

Leicester possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Justin, Evans, Soyuncu, Chilwell; Ndidi; Albrighton, Praet, Tielemans, Barnes; Vardy


Sports Mole Logo

We say: Watford 1-1 Leicester

Both teams will feel that they can hurt the opposition in the final third of the field, which should make for an interesting match at Vicarage Road. We are finding it difficult to separate the two teams, though, and are therefore backing a low-scoring draw on Saturday afternoon.


ID:392696: cacheID:392696:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:9244:

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Restore Data
Share this article now:
Aston Villa boss Dean Smith on March 1, 2020
Read Next:
Dean Smith bemoans "careless" Aston Villa after heavy Leicester defeat
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
10am
Blanch
Nadal
10am
Cachin
Ofner
10am
Elahi Galan
Bautista-Agut
10am
Gasquet
Sonego
10am
Hanfmann
Mensik
10am
Koepfer
Carballes Baena
10am
Kovacevic
Medjedovic
10am
Lajovic
Monteiro
10am
Machac
Ruusuvuori
10am
Michelsen
Fonseca
10am
Nishioka
Auger-Aliassime
10am
O'Connell
Arnaldi
10am
Purcell
Giron
10am
Ramos-Vinolas
Kotov
10am
Tabilo
Cobolli
10am
Zhizhen
Kecmanovic
10am
Azarenka
Maria
10am
Eala
Cirstea
10am
Annie Fernandez
Potapova
10am
Gauff
Rus
10am
Keys
Camelia-Begu
10am
Podoroska
Navarro
10am
Karolina Schmiedlova
Jabeur
10am
Swiatek
Wang
10am
Baez
Van Assche
10am
Coric
Zverev
10am
Martin Etcheverry
Shapovalov
10am
Humbert
Van De Zandschulp
10am
Hurkacz
Draper
10am
Marozsan
Cerundolo
10am
Paul
Klein
10am
Rublev
Bagnis
10am
Altmaier
Fils
10am
Darderi
Fritz
10am
Griekspoor
Daniel
10am
Munar
Struff
10am
Musetti
Seyboth Wild
10am
Navone
Rune
10am
Shevchenko
Alcaraz
10am
Alexandrova
Krueger
10am
Andreeva
Noskova
10am
Bejlek
Kalinskaya
10am
Boulter
Montgomery
10am
Bronzetti
Rybakina
10am
Collins
Danilovic
3pm
Cristian
Krejcikova
10am
Dolehide
Kalinina
10am
Garcia
Wang
10am
Linette
Sabalenka
10am
Pavlyuchenkova
Saville
10am
Sorribes Tormo
Svitolina
10am
Vekic
Sakkari
11.30am
Arango
Yastremska
11.30am
Osaka
Samsonova
11.30am
Ostapenko
Bouzas Maneiro
1pm
Haddad Maia
Errani
2.30pm
Lourdes Carle
Kudermetova
2.30pm
Mertens
Stephens
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Leicester CityLeicester443041086394794
2Leeds UnitedLeeds44279880374390
3Ipswich TownIpswich432611685533289
4Southampton442591085612484
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom4420121267442372
6Norwich CityNorwich442191477611672
7Hull City441912136556969
8Coventry CityCoventry4317121468551363
9Middlesbrough44189176460463
10Preston North EndPreston44189175661-563
11Cardiff CityCardiff44195205061-1162
12Bristol City441611175147459
13Sunderland44168205251156
14Swansea CitySwansea441511185762-556
15Watford441217155958153
16Millwall441411194355-1253
17Stoke CityStoke441311204460-1650
18Queens Park RangersQPR441311204157-1650
19Blackburn RoversBlackburn441310215874-1649
20Plymouth ArgylePlymouth441212205869-1148
21Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds44138233968-2947
22Birmingham CityBirmingham441210224864-1646
23Huddersfield TownHuddersfield44917184774-2744
RRotherham UnitedRotherham44412283285-5324


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!