Leicester City Previews: ‘Nothing but the Huth’ – Can Leicester add to Watford recent misery?

Leicester City vs Watford
20/01/18
Kick off 3pm

Preview:

Whenever someone mentions Leicester and Watford in the same sentence, all I think about is that moment a few years ago. That one minute of madness will forever go down in footballing folklore and it’s a moment I’ll never forget regardless of the negative connotations it represents. I like playing Watford as both teams play in similar ways and the games are always unpredictable, and I presume this weekend will be no exception.

The Foxes face the Hornets this Saturday afternoon in a bid to close the gap between them and seventh placed Burnley. Just three points separate Leicester and Burnley, so as you can imagine, winning this game would be the perfect way to start the weekend.

Watford are a side who have dipped in form lately, amidst the ever-growing speculation surrounding Marco Silva and his future at Vicarage Road. Yet, Watford have picked up the most points this season from being behind in a match, and that was apparent against Southampton, where they managed to salvage a point from the match after being two-nil down; they have their own Diego Maradona to thank for the last minute equaliser…

I’m expecting goals this weekend and you’ll be able to see why below.

Stats:

Watford, as previously mentioned above, have recovered the most points from losing positions in the Premier League this season. They’re a team who won’t go down without a fight, put it that way.

Looking at their previous results, Watford have only won one of their last ten league games, losing eight of them. Funnily enough that victory came at home to, you guessed it, Leicester. A 2-1 victory on that day turned out to be Watford’s only real glimmer of joy in recent times in the Premier League.

What’s interesting about this game is that Leicester have won more games at home than away, whereas Watford have done better away from home than at Vicarage Road. This could be quite worrying for us Leicester fans, considering the pace and skill the Watford team possesses, which means that counter-attacks are very much on the agenda come Saturday afternoon.

In terms of goals, one stat that jumped out to me was half-time score lines. More specifically, only three times has the game been 0-0 at the break when Watford have been the away team; expect at least a goal in the first half of this game.

Leicester have kept two clean sheets in a row, having conceding in each of their last six games, a run that stretched back to December 2nd where the Foxes beat Burnley by a goal to nil. However, Watford haven’t kept a clean sheet since November 25th (1-0 win vs Newcastle), conceding at least a goal in their last ten games.

Overall, both teams score 45% of the time at the King Power Stadium. Adding to that, 55% of Watford’s away matches this season have resulted in both teams scoring. According to the stats then, the likelihood of both these sides scoring is very high.

Prediction:

I like Watford to be honest, I like how they play. Admittedly, and I’m sure Watford fans will back me up here, their form hasn’t been quite up to standard and it’s been tough viewing for them as of late. But I do think Marco Silva is a very good coach and has given Watford a platform to build on, although they better not build on it this Saturday…just one more week off please, lads!

Leicester on the other hand will be confident, following a very good 0-0 draw away at Chelsea, where arguably the Foxes should’ve picked up all three, as well as a 2-0 victory on Tuesday against Fleetwood in the FA Cup Replay.
At the King Power, as we know by now, Leicester play much better football. With a capacity crowd behind them, something always seems to happen down at LE2, usually a goal of some sort. This Saturday is a chance to build on the Chelsea performance, and I think we will do just that.

The only question mark/issue I have about this Saturday is how fresh will the players be after their midweek excursions in the cup? Watford on paper will be fresher and in football, fitness can sometimes be the difference between a draw and a win.

Saying all that, with Watford in the situation they are in right now in terms of results, I do think they’ll score but it won’t be enough.

Leicester to win, but Watford to make a good game of it.

Score Prediction:

Leicester City 3-1 Watford