Tottenham v Watford: Hosts to maintain winning start with low-scoring victory

Tottenham v Watford: Hosts to maintain winning start with low-scoring victory

Tottenham have won their opening two Premier League games and Simon Mail expects them to make it three in a row with victory over Watford this weekend...

Tottenham make encouraging start under Nuno

Tottenham have won their opening two Premier League games and Harry Kane has just announced he is staying this summer. These outcomes have quietened the discontent at Spurs, at least for now, with Nuno Espirito Santo off to a promising start. Their fans are unlikely to get carried away but will rightly expect their 100 per cent record to continue this weekend at home to Watford.

An opening home victory over champions Manchester City was the perfect start with Son Heung-min scoring the winner.

Nuno returned to his former club Wolves last weekend and Spurs had to withstand plenty of pressure from Wolves.

But Dele Alli's first-half penalty was enough to secure back-to-back 1-0 victories in the league. Kane scored twice in his first start of the season on Thursday as Tottenham defeated Pacos de Ferreira 3-0 to progress to the group stage of the new Europa Conference League.

Mixed fortunes for Watford after promotion

Newly-promoted Watford have been widely tipped to finish bottom of the league although Xisco Munoz's side could surprise a few teams this season. Watford certainly caught out Aston Villa in their opener as the hosts clinched a 3-2 win at Vicarage Road.

Ismaila Sarr scored one of the goals and the impressive Senegal winger is likely to be crucial to their chances of avoiding relegation.

Watford will need to rely on a strong home record this season, as they did during their exceptional form at Vicarage Road in the Championship last year, if they are to stay up but the early signs away from home look ominous. The Hornets were toothless as a limp first-half performance resulted in a 2-0 defeat at Brighton last weekend. Any repeat of that on Sunday will surely result in a comfortable Tottenham win and Watford need a swift improvement.

Spurs merit status as strong favourites

Tottenham are 1.46 favourites for this match and it is hard to quibble with this price. As unappealing as the odds are, Spurs should be too strong for Watford and will probably be used in plenty of accumulators this weekend. Tottenham have lost just one of their last 16 league games against Watford and, with Kane's immediate future secure, the home fans should look forward to another win before heading into the international break.

Watford are 9.2 outsiders for this game and there is not enough confidence to side with the visitors. Their last ten league trips to Spurs have yielded no wins and nine defeats. Watford were far too easy to play against during the loss at Brighton and it is difficult to envisage a dramatic transformation inside a week.

The draw is available at 4.8 and it is worth noting the last two meetings between the sides ended in a stalemate. But Tottenham appear to be in a better place than on those two occasions while Watford have questions to answer on the road. A home win looks far and away the most likely outcome but it is worth scouring the other markets to find a bigger price on a Tottenham victory.

Low-scoring home win looks best bet

Nuno focuses on defensively solidity as his base and it has worked in the early weeks for Tottenham with successive clean sheets in the league. His teams are set up to counter-attack although the onus will be on them to dominate against Watford. Spurs look well equipped to shut out Watford and secure a third consecutive league win to nil this weekend at 6/5.

Tottenham have yet to take off the handbrake during their opening league wins although that is understandable considering one of their matches was against the champions. Watford are likely to set up with a defensive mindset and Spurs may have to be content with another low-scoring win. The last six league clashes between the teams have all produced fewer than four goals. Taking Spurs to win with under 3.5 goals is a shade under Evens and looks another appealing option for backing the favourites.