Watford vs Cardiff PREVIEW & PREDICTION 15/12/2018

Watford and Cardiff City meet at Vicarage Road Stadium, in a match for the 17th round of the Premier League. There is only record of 2 recent direct matches between these two teams: on 28-07-2015, which ended with the victory of Cardiff City by (2-1), and on 28-12-2014, which ended with the victory of Watford by (2-4).

Watford:

The home team is currently in the 9 th position of the league, with 23 points won, after 6 wins, 3 draws and 7 losses. In the penultimate match, they lost in a home match against Manchester City, by (1-2). In the last match, they tied in an away match against Everton, by (2-2). For the league, Watford won 12 points out of 24 possible points, after 4 wins and 4 losses in the last 8 home matches. In their home league matches the most frequent result at half-time was the 0-0 (3 out of 8 matches). Defensive consistency has not been their best feature, as they have conceded goals in 8 of the last 10 matches for this competition. In their home matches for this competition there is a tendency for goals, since 7 of the last 8 matches have ended with Over 2,5 goals. In 16 matches in the competition, they suffered the first goal 10 times and only managed 1 comeback. There is 1 period that stands out in the last 9 home matches for all competitions: they have suffered 5 of their 13 goals between minutes (31′-45 ‘).

The Watford comes to this match with a draw, 2-2, in the displacement to the Everton field, thus registering the sixth consecutive game without beating the English championship: the goals of the team were scored by Doucouré and Coleman (self-defense ). The Watford has a lot of competition in the offensive sector, however, the defensive line has shown great weaknesses. It is inevitable to highlight the skillful Roberto Pereyra, responsible for creating and organizing the offensive process. In addition, the player mentioned above is the great highlight of Watford, with 5 goals scored. For this game coach Javi Gracia will not be able to count on Capoué, suspended, as well as Cleverley, Andre Gray and Hughes, with physical complaints.

Probable alignment: B. Foster, C. Cathcart, J. Holebas, Kiko Femenía, C. Kabasele, A. Doucouré, R. Pereyra, K. Sema, Domingos Quina, T. Deeney, I. Success.

Cardiff City:

After 4 wins, 2 draws and 10 losses, the away team is currently in the 14 th position of the league, with 14 points won. In the penultimate match, they lost in an away match against West Ham United, by (3-1). In the last match, they won in a home match against Southampton, by (1-0). For the league, Cardiff City won 1 point out of 21 possible points, after 1 draw and 6 losses in the last 7 away matches.

In this competition, they have a sequence of 5 losses in the last away matches and they have not won any of the last 7 away matches. In their home matches there are a few frequent results at half-time: 0-0 (3 out of 7 matches) and 1-0 (3 out of 7 matches). They have not been very strong defensively, since they have suffered goals in 9 of the last 10 matches, but their offense has scored frequently, since they have scored goals in 7 of the last 10 matches for this competition. This is a team that usually scores a few times first: it only opened the scoring in 2 of its last 16 matches for the Premier League, and never reached halftime advantage. In 16 matches in this tournament, he suffered the first goal 12 times and only managed 3 comebacks.

Cardiff arrive in this match with a 1-0 victory at the Southampton reception, adding the third consecutive win playing at home. However, it is important to underline that he is going through a very difficult phase away from home, since he has had 6 defeats in 7 games. In this move to the Watford field, the trained Neil Warnock should keep the team in 4-3-3, favoring defensive organization and counterattacks by the flanks. Midfielder Callum Paterson is Cardiff’s best scorer, with 4 goals scored. For this game the coach will not be able to count on Daniel Ward and Richards, both with physical problems.

Probable alignment: N. Etheridge, B. Écuélé Manga, S. Morrison, S. Bamba, C. Paterson, J. Bennett, Víctor Camarasa, H. Arter, Josh Murphy, A. Gunnarsson, N. Mendez-Laing.


PREDICTION: Watford to win @ 1.64

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