Relegation-strugglers Watford welcome Southampton to Vicarage Road for Sunday’s sole Premier League game.
The Hornets are hovering just above the bottom three after picking up one point from a possible six since the restart, while Saints are 14th – nine points ahead of Watford.
Nigel Pearson’s side needed to hit the ground running after the lay-off, but two poor performances have seen them fail to steer clear of the drop zone.
Watford returned to action with a draw against Leicester before suffering a 1-0 defeat to Burnley last time out.
Following an impressive six game unbeaten run between December and January, Watford have only managed to win one of their previous nine Premier League games.
Meanwhile, Southampton resumed with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over bottom-club Norwich. Goals from Danny Ings, Stuart Armstrong, and Nathan Redmond handed Saints all three points at Carrow Road.
However, the south coast side were beaten 2-0 by Arsenal last time out. Despite matching the Gunners’ shot count (11), Southampton failed to score.
Like Watford, Saints also enjoyed a promising run before the turn of the year – losing just two league games in ten attempts. But they have since suffered six defeats in their previous nine outings.
Having said that, Southampton’s record against Watford is very impressive. Saints have only lost one of their previous 11 games against the Hornets and are unbeaten in their last six visits to Vicarage Road.
Ismaila Sarr put Watford ahead in the reverse fixture earlier in the second, but late goals from Danny Ings and James Ward-Prowse earned Southampton a victory in Novemeber.
Watford will be without Gerard Deulofeu, Daryl Janmaat, and Isaac Success on Sunday, as the trio continue to recover from injury.
Key midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure started as a substitute against Burnley last time out, but the dynamic Frenchman is expected to return to Pearson’s starting XI.
As for Southampton, forward Shane Long returned from injury to face Arsenal on Thursday. But left-back Sam McQueen remains a long-term absentee.
Centre-back Jack Stephens will miss Sunday’s clash due to suspension after being sent off against the Gunners.
This is likely to be a highly competitive game. Southampton appear to be safe from relegation, but Watford still have to fight for their lives.
Forebet predicts that both sides will score over 1.5 goals. However, the points are likely to be shared.
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