West Ham v Watford
Premier League
Friday 17th July 2020
The London Stadium
West Ham have found a little bit of form at just the right time and a victory over Watford on Friday evening is likely to preserve their Premier League status for next season. That achievement will not be celebrated in East London as this Hammers squad is much better than there league position suggests and big decisions will have to be made at the club in the Summer starting with whether or not David Moyes will be kept on as Manager.
Team News
The Hammers have picked up 7 points from the last 12 available with 2 wins (Chelsea 3-2) Norwich(4-0) and a draw with Newcastle (2-2). They looked really impressive over the weekend with the 4-0 win Over Norwich in East Anglia but all too often this season a good result has been followed by a poor result and performance. Moyes will be without Robert Snodgrass for the visit of Watford, it was thought Snodgrass would miss the rest of the season but he is back training and may feature in the final two games. Felipe Anderson is back in contention after missing the win at Carrow Road but he may have to settle for a place on the bench as Moyes is unlikely to change a winning team.
Betting
West Ham have a three point cushion above the bottom 3 and a victory here would be enough to secure safety, they will be confident of picking up the win having won the reverse fixture 3-1 at Vicarage Road. Home Form has not been great for West Ham having lost 9 of 17 at The London Stadium but they will be buoyed by the recent 3-2 win over Chelsea and the performance in the win at Norwich. They look good value at 7/5 with Coral. Michail Antonio is having a real purple patch at the moment culminating in his 4 goals at Carrow Road, he is the obvious pick for a goal scorer bet with confidence so high. He has 12 Goals to his name in all competitions and is 5/2 to score anytime with Betfred.
Watford like West Ham have found a little but of form at just the right time. The Hornets looked certainties for relegation when Nigel Pearson took over from Quique Sanchez Flores but a superb run of form has seen them escape the drop zone and have there destiny in there own hands with 3 games to go. They have won the last 2 games in the Premier League against Norwich (2-1) and Newcastle (2-1) at Vicarage Road and that is the first time this season they have managed back-to back Premier League Wins.
Team News
The 2 wins against Norwich and Newcastle were not exactly straight forward but what it has proven is the Watford players have the stomach for a fight and that can only stand them in good stead for the final three games. Pearson has some key injury issues ahead of the trip to East London with Daryl Janmaat, Gerard Deulofeu and Isaac Success remain injured and skipper Troy Deeney limped off in the Newcastle win with what Pearson called “A Grumbly Knee”. Deeney is expected to play but there must be doubts about his fitness.
Betting
The Watford resurgence has come at Vicarage Road and there away form is a source of concern as they have only won twice on the road and picked up 10 points from 17 matches. With Man City at Home and Arsenal away this looks the Hornets best chance to pick up any further points. Watford will clearly be targeting this game as winnable and they are available at a best price 13/5 with Unibet. Danny Welbeck has been plaughed by injuries in recent seasons but he has managed to string a number of games together in recent weeks and there is no doubting the quality of the former England International. He is our pick to score anytime at 16/5 with
Betfred
Last 6 – H2H
25 Feb 2017 | Watford v West Ham United | 1-1 | Premier League | |
19 Nov 2017 | Watford v West Ham United | 2-0 | Premier League | |
10 Feb 2018 | West Ham United v Watford | 2-0 | Premier League | |
22 Dec 2018 | West Ham United v Watford | 0-2 | Premier League | |
12 May 2019 | Watford v West Ham United | 1-4 | Premier League | |
24 Aug 2019 | Watford v West Ham United | 1-3 | Premier League |