Watford vs Swansea City. Premier League.
Vicarage RoadAttendance20,272.
Saturday 15 April 2017 07:43, UK
Swansea will be without captain Jack Cork for their trip to Watford on Saturday.
The midfielder suffered a sprained ankle in last weekend's 1-0 defeat to West Ham and he could miss Saturday's clash with Stoke as well.
The loss to the Hammers was Swansea's fourth in their last five Premier League matches as they have slipped into the relegation zone.
Head coach Paul Clement, who saw an initial upturn in form after his appointment in January, said: "West Ham was probably the worst we've been since I've been at the club, but we have to move on quickly from that.
"I thought there was an anxiety in our play and it's difficult to say why that was the case. The mood this week was not so good in the first couple of days but spirits have really been lifted and we have belief going into this fixture."
Swansea are two points from safety, with Watford nine points ahead after two wins in their last three matches.
They were beaten 4-0 at Tottenham last time out, with leading scorer Troy Deeney starting on the bench due to "fatigue".
Hornets boss Walter Mazzarri says Deeney is "available" to start against Swansea on Saturday.
Team news
Watford will be without defender Miguel Britos as he serves the second part of a two-match ban.
Valon Behrami and Sebastian Prodl are doubts with injuries while Roberto Pereyra, Younes Kaboul and Mauro Zarate are long-term absentees.
Leon Britton and Jay Fulton are pushing to replace Cork for Swansea with Clement indicating he may change his formation following the defeat at West Ham.
Fernando Llorente is set to return to the starting line-up after coming off the bench against the Hammers following two games out with an ankle problem.
Opta stats
This will be the fourth time Watford and Swansea have faced each other in the Premier League, while the Swans will do so with their fourth different manager since the first meeting in September 2015 (Garry Monk, Alan Curtis, Bob Bradley and Clement).
Watford and Swansea have combined to produce 68 shots (incl. blocks) in their three previous meetings in the competition, however only two goals have been scored (one each).
The away side has yet to score in any of the previous three Premier League games between these two.
Valon Behrami's only red card in 102 Premier League appearances came in this exact fixture last season (September 2015).
Watford have been given a joint-league high four red cards in the Premier League this season, while no club have received as many yellow cards (72).
Jose Holebas has been given 12 yellow cards in the Premier League this season; three more than any other player. He's not been booked in any of his last four Premier League appearances, but is yet to go five in a row without a booking in 2016-17.
Merson's prediction
Watford are a funny team, you don't know what you're going to get.
I expect Troy Deeney to come back, they likely dropped him at Tottenham with one eye on this match on Saturday.
Swansea were disappointing at West Ham in a game they probably targeted as a possible win away from home.
But I have Hull losing at Stoke and I think the Swans get a point at Vicarage Road, keeping things close at the bottom of the table.
Betting
Watford are Sky Bet's 7/5 favourites for the victory with Swansea priced at 19/10, while the draw is a 9/4 chance. Troy Deeney heads the first goalscorer betting at 5/1 while Fernando Llorente and Gylfi Sigurdsson are tied at the head of the Swans' side of the market at 6/1 apiece.
