Watford v Tottenham: Premier League predictions, odds & free tip

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Watford v Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.

Where to watch

BT Sport 1, 12.30pm Saturday

Best bet

Watford draw no bet
1pt 11-8 Sky Bet
Back this tip with bet365 here

Team news

Watford
New signing Ignacio Pussetto is available for the first time and Will Hughes (knock), Danny Welbeck (hamstring) and Kiko Femenia (hamstring) are back in training although they lack match fitness and none of them are likely to make the squad. Tom Cleverley (heel), Daryl Janmaat and Sebastian Prodl (both knee) are sidelined.

Tottenham
Ben Davies (ankle), Tanguy Ndombele (groin), Harry Kane (hamstring), and Moussa Sissoko (knee) are ruled out. New signing Gedson Fernandes will be in the squad and Hugo Lloris (elbow) is back in training.

Match preview

Watford climbed out of the relegation zone for the first time this season with a 3-0 success at Bournemouth last Sunday and their impressive revival can continue with a victory over Tottenham at Vicarage Road.

Top-flight survival is far from certain for the Hornets, who are one point outside the bottom three, but they approach the Spurs match full of confidence after taking 13 points from the last five games.

Nigel Pearson, the architect of Watford's revival, deserves huge credit although he would be the first to admit that he inherited some good players.

Successful managers have a knack of motivating players and finding the right system to suit their strengths.

And Pearson had done exactly that by demanding greater effort and concentration and favouring a 4-2-3-1 formation which maximises the attributes of talented wide forwards Ismaila Sarr and Gerard Deulofeu.

Sarr is starting to show why Watford paid a club record fee (reportedly £40m) for his services last summer and Deulofeu is flourishing under Pearson, who challenges him to work harder with and without the ball.

Everybody is putting in a shift and Watford are showing some of the qualities which took them to an 11th-place finish and the FA Cup final last season.

Watford are six points outside the top half and just eight behind Spurs, who are having their first sticky spell since Jose Mourinho's appointment in November.

The Lilywhites have lost three of their last five league matches, leaving them nine points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea.

Champions League qualification looks a long shot and Mourinho recognised the importance of a decent run in the FA Cup by putting out a strong team to tackle Middlesbrough in Tuesday's third round replay at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Spurs made hard work of it – scraping a 2-1 victory – but there were positives to take with academy graduate Japhet Tanganga impressing at right-back and Giovani Lo Celso bagging his second goal for the club.

However, Mourinho still seems to be working out his best team and there are some strong contenders unavailable with goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, midfielders Moussa Sissoko and Tanguy Ndombele and striker Harry Kane among the injured contingent.

The loss of Kane is the biggest blow and it isn't just his goals (17 this season) that Spurs are missing.

Without him Spurs lack a focal point to their attack, meaning they have to be more precise and intricate with their forward passing.

And the lack of a natural number nine could play into the hands of Watford, who have quickly adapted to Pearson's high-energy approach.

Watford's positive tactics worked well for them in recent successes over Manchester United (2-0) and Wolves (2-1) and may lay the foundation for another notable home victory.

Key stat

Tottenham have won two of their last 21 domestic away fixtures.

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