Bottom-placed Aston Villa welcome Watford to Villa Park in the Premier League on Saturday, as the Villans aim to secure their first win in 12 league fixtures.
As for Watford, they find themselves highest-placed out of the promoted sides, but they come into the clash off the back of two consecutive defeats.
Aston Villa
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Aston Villa's fortunes appeared to have taken a very minor turn for the better when they managed to claim a point against Manchester City at the start of November.
That goalless draw at Villa Park saw new coach Remi Garde take charge of his first game for the side in a move that seemed to excite followers of the Midlands outfit.
Garde was unable to follow up that result when his side faced Everton last weekend, however, as they looked totally abject during a 4-0 thumping at the hands of Roberto Martinez's men.
With a progressive coach like Garde at the helm, Villa could go from strength to strength in the league in the coming years, but to do that they will need to stave off the prospect of relegation, which seems like a target that is becoming increasingly difficult as the weeks pass.
Villa are now winless in their last 12 league fixtures having lost 10 and drawn two, and their French coach will now know the size of the mammoth task at hand as he heads into a crucial winter period. Perhaps the statistic that shows that no side has been able to hold off relegation after accumulating just five points from 13 games shows the sort of battle Villa will be up against for the remainder of the campaign.
One way of improving their fortunes would be to start scoring more goals at home, as the Villans have failed to register in their last four games at Villa Park. However, the club will be without the promising creativity of Jack Grealish this weekend, following his expulsion from the squad due to disciplinary issues.
Recent form: LLLLDL
Recent form (all competitions): LLLLDL
Watford
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The Hornets have been plugging away rather quietly in the opening stages of their return to the top flight, and when looking at the table Watford now represent the best-placed team from the promoted sides.
Much of the club's good work has been built on consistency at both Vicarage Road and on their travels, where Watford have lost just twice in their last seven away games.
Quique Flores will be slightly irritated having lost their last two games in a row in the league, falling to one-goal defeats against Leicester City and Manchester United.
Watford currently find themselves seven points above the relegation zone, but that gap could be cut come the end of the weekend should they lose at Villa.
Flores will be delighted at the crucial combination of Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo up top, but a slight cause for concern will be the way in which his side seems to drop off from games in the second half.
As it stands, Watford have proven fantastic in the opening halves of games having conceded just two goals all season during the first 45 minutes. However, when looking at the second halves of fixtures in the league, the Hornets have conceded a league-high 86% of their goals in the final 45.
Should Flores and his men be able to get beyond Villa at the weekend, they also have winnable fixtures to come against Norwich City and Sunderland, meaning that they could feasibly be well on their way to attaining the sacred 40-point mark heading into December.
Recent form: DLWWLL
Team News
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Villa will be without Jordan Amavi following a season-ending injury, while Grealish has been left out of the matchday squad.
Garde is thought to have overseen a behind-closed-doors training session during the week, where Adama Traore, Gary Gardner and Jores Okore all turned out to compete.
Villa fans will be hopeful that frontman Rudy Gestede can make a return to work alongside Gabby Agbonlahor, who is also striving to get back from injury in time for the visit of Watford.
The away side are still without Sebastian Prodl and Joel Ekstrand, meaning that Miguel Britos should continue in defence.
Flores is looking likely to be able to welcome back Nathan Ake, allowing Ikechi Anya to move further forward down the left flank.
Aston Villa possible starting lineup:
Guzan; Hutton, Clark, Richards, Richardson; Gueye, Sanchez, Veretout; Gil; Ayew, Gestede
Watford possible starting lineup:
Gomes; Nyom, Britos, Cathcart, Ake; Capoue, Watson; Anya, Deeney, Abdi; Ighalo
Head To Head
The two sides have met four times in the Premier League in a competitive history that stretches back to 1999. Villa hold the upper hand as things stand, having won three and drawn one. The teams last met in the 2006-07 season where they produced a goalless draw at Vicarage Road, before Villa claimed a 2-0 win on home soil.
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We say: Aston Villa 1-1 Watford
Villa are in desperate need of three points and they will feel that they still have a chance against Watford despite their recent run of poor results. Garde is still waiting for the first goal to be scored of his time in charge and Villa will need to ensure that they make use of Watford's general slide that seems to occur in the second halves of games. That said, Watford can be devastating going forward and as spectators saw against United, Flores has set his side up to be difficult to beat. A lack of goals and clean sheets has already hurt Villa this season and they might find this one difficult to win as the pressure continues to mount.
Christopher Dodd
