Watford vs Stoke City. Premier League.
Vicarage RoadAttendance20,759.
Saturday 19 March 2016 16:11, UK
Stoke City can jump up to seventh spot in the Premier League - just a point behind Manchester United - if they can overcome FA Cup semi-finalists Watford at Vicarage Road on Saturday.
Europe-chasing Potters are currently in ninth place, four points off the top six with eight fixtures left to play.
The 2-1 home reverse at the hands of Southampton last weekend was a blow following a sequence of four league matches in which Mark Hughes' men had won three times before drawing at Chelsea.
They will be aiming to get back on track but the Hornets are on a high after they became the first side to beat Arsenal in the FA Cup since Blackburn in 2013 to reach Wembley.
Team news
Watford manager Quique Sanchez Flores says he will have to make last-minute decisions on "three or four" of his players including Odion Ighalo.
The club's top goalscorer is a doubt after the Hornets' top scorer limped off in their 2-1 cup win at Arsenal and has been struggling with a muscular injury in training.
Flores is unable to confirm whether he will make it as Watford look to seal their spot in the top flight for another season.
Watford will reach a magic 40 points if they beat Stoke.
Miguel Britos and Joel Ekstrand are both unavailable due to hamstring injuries.
Stoke will be without Ryan Shawcross and Xherdan Shaqiri for the game.
Shawcross suffered the latest in a series of back problems when he picked up a strain towards the end of last weekend's 2-1 loss to Southampton, a match in which Shaqiri suffered a thigh issue.
A late decision will be made on Erik Pieters, who has been nursing a calf complaint, but Phil Bardsley, out recently with a similar problem, should be able to return.
The chance of Charlie Adam making his first-team comeback is unclear, with an Under-21s run-out having left him with some groin soreness.
Opta stats
Watford have won just two of their last 12 Premier League matches (W2 D3 L7).
The Hornets have failed to score in seven of their last nine top flight games.
There have been just 10 goals scored in the last eight Premier League matches involving Watford.
There have been just eight goals scored in the last seven league meetings between Stoke and Watford and just two in the last three meetings at Vicarage Road.
Stoke have gone six Premier League games away from home without a clean sheet, conceding 13 goals in that run.
City have failed to score in their last six league matches against Watford.
Merson's predictions
Beating Arsenal to reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup was a massive result for the club. But what do they do now? Do they rest some of their players in the league with a date at Wembley just around the corner?
Meanwhile, Stoke appear to be getting better away from home which is extremely unusual for them. With all that in mind I'm picking an away win by two goals to one.
PAUL PREDICTS: 1-2 (Sky Bet's odds: 10/1)
Betting
Watford are Sky Bet's 7/5 favourites with Stoke 21/10 for the victory, while the draw is priced at 21/10. Both sides will have their sights set on a top-half finish, something the Potters are marginally odds-on to achieve at 5/6 compared to their hosts' price of 9/2. Odion Ighalo heads the first goalscorer betting at 9/2 while Mame Biram Diouf is considered the visitors' main threat at 13/2, with the strike duo 9/2 both to find the net.
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