Norwich City vs Watford
Carrow Road, Nolfork
Friday, 08-11-2019 @11pm
Ref: Andre Marriner
Watford have easily been the poorest side in the Premier League this season.
Quique Sanchez Flores’s side are yet to win a game in the campaign after 11 games and are the book-makers favourites for the drop.
Things are not going their way at both ends of the pitch as they have scored a league low of six goals so far and conceded as many as 23 at the other end.
Sitting six points off safety, it is not to late to mount a strong fight for survival and they will know that a victory at Norwich may be the catalyst needed to kick start their campaign.
For the home side, they had a fairly good start to the season but things have turned sore of late.
They are winless in their last six games, losing five and drawing the other.
Their strength at the start was scoring goals but they seem to have dried up as Norwich have found the back of the net on only three occasions in that period.
Ahead of the game, Norwich midfielder Mario Vrancic is available for the first time since August after recovering from a calf injury and then illness. Ibrahim Amadou and Todd Cantwell are now fully fit and could start.
Watford captain Troy Deeney, who has been out since mid-August following a knee operation, is under consideration to face Norwich. Etienne Capoue and Ismaila Sarr have also returned to training, while Craig Cathcart has overcome a back spasm.
Norwich have won three of the past four league meetings. Watford haven’t kept a clean sheet in any of their last 12 away league games against Norwich since a goalless top-flight draw in February 1988.
Seven points from 11 games is Norwich’s joint-lowest tally at this stage of a top-flight season. Norwich could lose nine of their opening 12 league matches of a season for only the third time, having done so in 1946-47 and 1947-48. They have gone nine Premier League home games without keeping a clean sheet. The Canaries have conceded two goals or more in eight of their past nine league fixtures home and away. Norwich are yet to earn a point this season after falling behind in a game. Their solitary victory in the last 48 Premier League games in which they conceded the first goal came at home to Watford in May 2016. Teemu Pukki has gone six league appearances without a goal, his longest barren run since joining the club in 2017.
Watford are enduring a club top-flight record of 15 games without a victory and have failed to win any of their opening 11 league fixtures of a season for the first time. Watford’s only top-flight away victory in the past 10 attempts came at already-relegated Huddersfield in April (D2, L7). The late consolation penalty against Chelsea was only Watford’s second goal in six matches in all competitions. The Hornets are the Premier League’s lowest scorers with six goals. They are the only side this season to have no players score more than once in the division.
Other Premier League weekend fixtures
Saturday, 09-11-2019
-Chelsea vs Crystal Palace @3:30pm
-Burnley vs West Ham United @6pm
-Newcastle United vs Bournemouth @6pm
-Southampton vs Everton @6pm
-Tottenham Hotspur vs Sheffield United @6pm
-Leicester City vs Arsenal @8:30pm
Sunday, 10-11-2019
-Man United vs Brighton @5pm
-Wolves vs Aston Villa @5pm
-Liverpool vs Man City @7:30pm
