MX23RW : Sunday, November 24 14:36:27| >> :120:64720:64720:
[monks data]
Watford logo
Championship
Apr 5, 2014 at 3pm UK
 
Burnley logo

1-1

Deeney (9')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Arfield (86')

Preview: Watford vs. Burnley

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Championship clash between Watford and Burnley at Vicarage Road.

Burnley's long unbeaten run came to an end at the hands of leaders Leicester City last weekend, and they will be keen to get straight back to winning ways when they face Watford at Vicarage Road on Saturday.

The Foxes handed Sean Dyche's side their first defeat in 17 Championship matches to all but end any hopes the Clarets had of challenging for the title, with seven points now separating the two teams.

However, Burnley's slip-up was not capitalised on by Queens Park Rangers, leaving them nine points clear of the Hoops and almost guaranteed automatic promotion to the Premier League.

Dyche will want to get their promotion confirmed as quickly as possible, however, and ensuring that the defeat to Leicester was a blip rather than the beginning of a dip in form will be crucial to that.

Doing so will be more difficult than usual, however, due to the season-ending injury suffered by Sam Vokes, who joins strike partner Danny Ings on the sidelines.

The Clarets have alternated between draws and victories on the road in recent weeks, but no team has managed to beat them away from home in the league since the turn of the year, with their last defeat coming on Boxing Day.

In addition to the absence of their devastating duo up front, Burnley will also be without Kieran Trippier and Dean Marney, while Ashley Barnes could lead the line alone.

For Watford, the remaining seven games are very much a case of looking towards next season and gearing themselves up for a playoff charge in Giuseppe Sannino's first full season at the helm.

Any flickering embers of playoff hopes were kept alive with an impressive 4-1 win over Sheffield Wednesday last weekend, leaving them eight points behind the top six with a game in hand over the teams above them.

Their goal difference is also in their favour if they can string a run of victories together at the end of the season, but there are still a number of teams better placed than them and it would take an unlikely set of results for them to make a late push for the playoffs.

They would certainly need to show more consistency than they have in recent weeks, with three wins, three defeats and two draws in their last eight matches.

The Hornets have been in superb form at home, however, going seven matches without defeat and only seeing their six-game winning streak without conceding come to an end last Tuesday in a 3-3 draw with Blackburn Rovers.

Watford have no new injury concerns to worry about, so Sannino could opt to name an unchanged side to the one that beat Sheffield Wednesday so comfortably.

Recent form

Watford: WLWLDW

Burnley: WDWWWL

Possible starting lineups

Watford: Almunia; Doyley, Angella, Ekstrand; Anya, McGugan, Battochio, Tozser, Pudil; Deeney, Ranegie

Burnley: Heaton; Baird, Shackell, Duff, Mee; Jones, Arfield; Kightly, Wallace, Stanislas; Barnes

Sports Mole says: 2-2


ID:147914: cacheID:147914:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:5473:No Data Analysis info

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Restore Data
Share this article now:
Leicester's Chris Wood is congratulated by teammates after scoring the opening goal against Watford on November 2, 2013
Read Next:
Match Analysis: Burnley 0-2 Leicester
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
6pm
Vikings
@
Bears
6pm
Lions
@
Colts
6pm
Patriots
@
Dolphins
6pm
Buccaneers
@
Giants
6pm
Chiefs
@
Panthers
6pm
Titans
@
Texans
6pm
Cowboys
@
Washington
9.05pm
Broncos
@
Raiders
9.25pm
49ers
@
Packers
9.25pm
Cardinals
@
Seahawks
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sunderland1695226121432
2Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd1610422191232
3Burnley168621961330
4Leeds UnitedLeeds158522491529
5Middlesbrough1683529191027
6West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom166821811726
7Watford168262524126
8Millwall166641914524
9Blackburn RoversBlackburn156451917222
10Bristol City165742020022
11Derby CountyDerby165562020020
12Stoke CityStoke165561920-120
13Norwich CityNorwich164752524119
14Swansea CitySwansea155461110119
15Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds165471826-819
16Luton TownLuton165381826-818
17Coventry CityCoventry164572223-117
18Oxford UnitedOxford Utd164571924-517
19Plymouth ArgylePlymouth164571728-1117
20Preston North EndPreston163761624-816
21Cardiff CityCardiff164481524-916
22Hull City163671621-515
23Portsmouth152671628-1212
24Queens Park RangersQPR161871326-1311


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!