Match Preview: Tottenham Hotspur vs. Watford

This is the eighth meeting between the two sides in the Premier League, Spurs are undefeated in this fixture with five wins and two draws. The two met on New Year’s Day as Spurs cruised to a 4-1 away win. A brace for both Harry Kane and Dele Alli insured a dominate victory and started 2017 as they meant to go on. Watford find themselves in 10th position in the Premier League on 37 points, 3 points shy of the magic 40-point mark. They have won back to back games for the 1st time since December and are on course to remain in the Premier League for a third season for the 1st time in their history. Spurs have won five games in a row, this is the 3rd time this season that Spurs have won four games or more consecutively. Spurs have scored in each of their last 23 Premier League matches at home, stretching back to January 2016. Spurs will welcome back some familiar faces in the Watford squad; goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes, defender Younes Kaboul and midfielder Etienne Capoue.

Watford like to line up in a 4-5-1 formation, Walter Mazzarri has tried to make the hornets difficult to beat. They like to be aggressive and on average make 14.3 fouls a game, the most in the league they also have the joint most red cards (4) and the most yellow cards (71). They like to be direct and use target man Troy Deeney as a focal point of their attacks. He is into double figures for the season with 10 goals and 4 assists. Since his loan move in January from AC Milan, M’Baye Niang has tried to link up with Deeney and added a different dimension to Watford’s attack. In his eight appearances, he has 2 goals and 2 assists. Spurs could revert to their 3-4-2-1 formation, as Wanyama is expected to be fit after missing the last game through injury. Vincent Janssen will be hoping his excellent cameo will be enough for him to start this game. Spurs will be expected to dominate possession and have enough guile to break down what could be a stubborn opponent. Spurs now average exactly 2 goals a game and still concede less than a goal a game giving them a healthy +38 goal difference the same as leaders Chelsea.

Watford’s last game was a 2-0 home win over West Brom, goals from Niang and Deeney gave them their 10th win of the season. Spurs had a dramatic evening away to Swansea, they were 1-0 down in the 87th minute and went on to score 3 goals in the last six minutes to snatch victory in Wales. The equaliser was scored by Dele Alli, it was his 15th in the Premier League this season. The 20-year-old has got 25 goals in his 62 Premier League appearances. Christian Eriksen scored the third goal, it was his 7th of the season and his 30th Premier League goal for Spurs. He also has 33 assists in his 127 Premier League appearances.

How the teams may line up:

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