Watford v Huddersfield: Terriers can take advantage of depleted hosts

Watford v Huddersfield
Saturday, 15:00

Hornets short on numbers

With both Watford and Huddersfield aiming to bounce back from midweek defeats, it's fair to say the busy festive period is taking its toll on the hosts in particular.

Marco Silva could be without as many as eleven players this weekend, with more enforced changes to contend with yet again. Richarlison, who along with Abdoulaye Doucoure has been a star turn for the Hornets, is a major doubt for the visit of the Terriers, while Tom Cleverley is now suspended following a costly red card at Crystal Palace on Tuesday.

The Englishman is much maligned but has been a mainstay under the new regime at Vicerage Road and, with Will Hughes also sidelined, there will likely be a rare start for Etienne Capoue, while Andre Carillo and Andre Gray may also return to the XI. If the latter did get a start it would likely be at the expense of Troy Deeney, who missed a golden chance in midweek but does boast and excellent record against Huddersfield, scoring six times in his last nine appearances against this Saturday's visitors.

Terriers almost at full strength

David Wagner has no such concerns, with Philipp Billing the only potential starter set to miss out. The German's main dilemma is who to start up front, with summer signings Steve Mounie and Laurent Depoitre continuing their tussle to lead the line. The former bagged a match winning brace against Brighton last weekend but the latter netted an excellent consolation in defeat to Chelsea at the weekend having replaced the Benin international.

All the value with the away side

The team news appears to have been somewhat overlooked to me in the odds, and so too has Watford's struggle in front of their own fans this season. Only three teams have picked up fewer points at home after all, with the Hornets earning the maximum in just two of eight games.

After an excellent start, Silva's side have hit problems that Huddersfield will be keen to exploit and they'll no doubt see this as an ideal chance to snap out of their own funk. Odds of an away win or draw in the double chance market at 2.20 are significantly higher than a Watford victory (1.72) and, with a near full squad for their manager to choose from, that stands a good chance of landing.

Expect goals at both ends

For all of their attacking endeavour, the hosts have been extremely open at the back this season, and now have the worst defensive record of any Premier League side at home this season as a result, conceding 16 goals. Their visitors, however, have only scored more goals on the road than Palace, with all three that they have managed coming at Selhurst Park on the opening day of the campaign.

Given Watford's aforementioned issues with players being unavailable for selection I'd tip Wagner's men to break their seven-game goalless streak, with odds of [2.05] on both teams to score enough to entice a flutter.

Worth chancing on Watford to lose lead

Wagner will know that, if his side can stay in the game, Watford are prone to lapses in both discipline and concentration. The Hornets have now dropped a whopping 13 points from winning positions already this season, which is one more than they surrendered over the entirety of the previous campaign.

If Huddersfield are to pick up their first points on their travels since September they will need to display the sort of patience that enabled Roy Hodgson's men to move out of the bottom three on Tuesday night. The Eagles' late double at Watford's expense were the seventh and eighth goals respectively that Silva's charges have conceded in the last ten minutes of matches.

There are, then, some interesting options for a longer shot tip. The visitors are at 15/2 to come from behind and draw and as high as 20/1 to secure a victory from a losing position. However, for a slightly safer bet the odds of 6/1 on Watford to score first and fail to win are perhaps most tempting here.

Recommended Bets
Back Both teams to score @ 2.00
Huddersfield/Draw in Double Chance market @ 2.20
Watford to score first and fail to win @ 6/1