MX23RW : Friday, November 8 22:19:36| >> :60:3367:3367:
[monks data]
Watford logo
Championship
Nov 22, 2014 at 3pm UK
 
Derby logo

1-2

Munari (67')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Ibe (39'), Bryson (81')

Preview: Watford vs. Derby County

Sports Mole looks ahead to Saturday's top-five clash between Watford and Championship leaders Derby at Vicarage Road.

Derby County will be looking to maintain their place at the summit of the Championship when they take on Watford in a top-of-the-table clash at Vicarage Road this Saturday.

The Rams displaced Bournemouth at the top before the international break courtesy of a thumping 5-0 victory over fellow promotion hopefuls Wolverhampton Wanderers.

However, despite the emphatic nature of that victory, Steve McClaren will know that his side cannot afford to rest on their laurels with such a tight playoff battle shaping up.

Victory on Saturday would give them a six-point cushion over the Hornets, while defeat would see them level on points with their opponents and most likely surrender top spot to one of the chasing pack.

McClaren will be keen to ensure that complacency doesn't creep into his side again having responded well to disappointing back-to-back defeats at the hands of Wigan Athletic and Brentford recently.

The visitors are unlikely to see any reason for changing their side from the drubbing of Wolves, especially after Jack Butland extended his loan at the club.

Johnny Russell will also be looking to continue his recent purple patch having scored four goals in his last four games for the Rams, form that earned him a Scotland debut against England at Celtic Park, where he came on as a sub to help set up his side's solitary goal.

It wasn't long ago that Watford sat in Derby's position atop the Championship ladder, but consecutive defeats before the international break have seen them drop down to fifth place.

Slavisa Jokanovic will be keen to avoid a similar prolonged slump to the ones suffered by the likes of Nottingham Forest and Norwich City in recent weeks, and a positive result against the league leaders would be an impressive response to their dip in form.

He will be glad to be back at Vicarage Road too, where Watford have not lost a league game all season and boast the third-best home record in the division.

The hosts have also been boosted by the news that Almen Abdi has returned to full training this week, although Saturday's match is likely to come too soon for the midfielder to start.

Indeed, Jokanovic could name an unchanged lineup up, with a front three of Matej Vydra, Troy Deeney and Fernando Forestieri once again.

Watford:

Recent form: WDDWLL

Possible starting lineup: Gomes; Paredes, Ekstrand, Bassong, Pudil; Munari, Tozser, Andrews; Vydra, Deeney, Forestieri

Derby:

Form in Championship: WWLLWW
Form in all competitions: WLWLWW

Possible starting lineup: Butland; Christie, Keogh, Shotton, Forsyth; Hendrick, Mascarell, Hughes; Russell, Martin, Dawkins

Sports Mole says: 2-3


ID:189245: cacheID:189245:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:5423: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:
A general shot of Ipswich Town's home ground Portman Road on March 15, 2011
Read Next:
Half-Time Report: Ipswich holding Watford
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
FT
Bengals
34-35
Ravens
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sunderland149322391430
2Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd149321871128
3Leeds UnitedLeeds147522291326
4Watford158162322125
5Burnley146621761124
6West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom14572148622
7Millwall146441712522
8Middlesbrough146351816221
9Swansea CitySwansea14545119219
10Blackburn RoversBlackburn145451616019
11Bristol City144731819-119
12Norwich CityNorwich144642320318
13Derby CountyDerby145361818018
14Stoke CityStoke145361718-118
15Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds145361724-718
16Oxford UnitedOxford Utd154561718-117
17Coventry CityCoventry144371819-115
18Hull City143651518-315
19Luton TownLuton144371621-515
20Preston North EndPreston143651420-615
21Cardiff CityCardiff144371320-715
22Plymouth ArgylePlymouth144371425-1115
23Queens Park RangersQPR141761223-1110
24Portsmouth141671327-149


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!