Watford v Swansea City preview: Wilfried Bony could hand Carlos Carvalhal boost

New Swansea boss Carlos Carvalhal could have Wilfried Bony available for the trip to Watford on Saturday.

Bony has missed the last two Premier League games with a hamstring injury suffered in Paul Clement's final match in charge, but could be fit to spearhead Carvalhal's attempt to turn Swansea's campaign around.

Carvalhal - given a contract until the end of the season at the Liberty Stadium - takes over a side bottom of the Premier League, with the Swans five points from safety having won just once in 12 league games. The Portuguese's contract could be extended further in May, and Carvalhal is happy with such an arrangement.

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"I prefer to stay one year, check if the chairman, fans, players are happy with me, and after see the next step," said Carvalhal." I don't want to stay in a club that the people is not happy with me.

Watford had picked up just one point from their previous six matches heading into the Boxing Day clash at Vicarage Road, and another defeat looked on the cards when Riyad Mahrez gave Leicester the lead, but Molla Wague drew the teams level and an own goal from Kasper Schmeichel helped the Hornets earn a crucial three points.

Team news

Bony has missed the last two Premier League games with a hamstring injury.

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Tammy Abraham could return to the starting line-up but Ki Sung-yueng (calf) and Kyle Bartley (knee ligaments) are likely to miss out again.

Watford will check on midfielder Roberto Pereyra ahead of Saturday's match. Pereyra was taken off just before half-time in the Boxing Day win over Leicester because of a leg muscle problem, so will be assessed along with No 2 goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis (back) while captain Troy Deeney is in the middle of a four-match suspension.

Opta stats

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• Watford sealed a 2-1 victory against Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium earlier this season thanks to a 90th minute goal from Richarlison - this game saw as many goals as the previous four Premier League meetings between the clubs combined (3)
• Watford will be looking to win both home and away in a single league season versus Swansea City for the first time since 1982-83
• Swansea have suffered a 0-1 defeat in both of their previous two Premier League trips to Watford; failing to score from any of their 21 shots in these games
• Should Watford win this match, Swansea will be the first team that the Hornets have defeated as many as three times at Vicarage Road in the Premier League
• Andre Gray scored a hat-trick in his final league appearance in both 2015 (vs Bristol City on Dec 28th 2015) and 2016 (vs Sunderland on Dec 31st 2016)

Merson's prediction

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I nearly fell off my chair when I heard Carlos Carvalhal had got the Swansea job. If someone had said to me: 'Swansea have a new manager, you have 700 guesses as to who,' I wouldn't have said Carlos Carvalhal.

How do you get sacked for failing at one of the biggest clubs in the Championship, and then get a Premier League job five days later?

They're giving him six months. I think they're down, relegated, and I think Watford could stroll this.

PAUL PREDICTS: 3-0 (11/1 with Sky Bet)

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