It’s the second game in just four days as Southampton travel to Watford. Get ready with our Match Pack, in association with eToro...
THE MATCH
Watford v Southampton
Vicarage Road
28 June 2020, 4:30pm BST
THE OFFICIALS
Referee: Michael Oliver
Assistants: Stuart Burt, Daniel Cook
Fourth official: Kevin Friend
Replacement official: Daniel Leach
VAR: Chris Kavanagh
Assistant VAR: Sian Massey-Ellis
HOW TO WATCH
The game will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event (401), Sky Sports Premier League (402), Pick (159) and Sky One (106)
A reminder for 2019/20 Season Ticket Holders that you will be able to avail of the NOW TV free passes.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
After the defeat to Arsenal, Saints stayed in 14th place with a four point cushion from Brighton and Hove Albion in 15th and ten points clear of the relegation zone.
A win against Watford would see us reach the magical 40 point mark which is usually enough to ensure another season in the top flight.
For Watford it’s a case of must win with them currently sitting one point above the relegation zone ahead of Aston Villa, Bournemouth and West Ham. Two of those four teams mentioned currently look likely to fill the remaining spots with Norwich seven points from safety.
Goal difference is also close so Saints will play some role in deciding who ends this gameweek in the bottom three.
TEAM NEWS
After his sending off against Arsenal, Jack Stephens joins Moussa Djenepo on the suspension list but both will be available to return after the trip to Watford.
There are doubts over midfielders Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Sofiane Boufal who both will face late fitness tests.
For Watford, Gerard Deulofeu, Daryl Janmaat and Isaac Success are ruled out for what may be the rest of the season but manager Nigel Pearson has still alluded to making some changes to his starting eleven.
FORM GUIDE
Southampton:
Arsenal (h) 0-2
Norwich City (a) 3-0 (Ings, Armstrong, Redmond)
Newcastle United (h) 0-1
West Ham United (a) 1-3 (Obafemi)
Aston Villa (h) 2-0 (Long, Armstrong)
Watford:
Burnley (a) 0-1
Leicester City (h) 1-1 (Dawson)
Crystal Palace (a) 0-1
Liverpool (h) 3-0 (Sarr x2, Deeney)
Manchester United (a) 0-3
THE MANAGERS
Ralph Hasenhüttl: “We are also not 100% safe and we need points, so if you go there and think you can just play football then you are wrong, you must take the fight there and if you don’t, you have no chance.
“We must invest more, sprint more and play better than we did against Arsenal. They have a few good players in transition after winning balls and have quick counter-attacks, so this is what makes them so dangerous at times."
Nigel Pearson: “I know people will want to look at the remaining fixtures and decide which games we have a better chance of winning in.
“But for me it’s very much a case of preparing ourselves and having a single-minded approach regarding the next game.
“We can’t spend too much time speculating on how things might look depending on how other people do. We’ve got to win enough of our own games, and this is our next one.”
ONES TO WATCH
James Ward-Prowse: Our Captain has a good record against Watford with his goal back in November being crucial in turning the season around.
The midfielder also has three goals in the last five games against Watford with two of those at Vicarage Road.
Troy Deeney: It’s hard to look past the striker who makes Watford tick. The front-man missed most of the early season through injury and upon his return scored five goals in seven games.
The important thing is those seven games yielded 11 points, a run that the Hornets nor Deeney have matched since.
TOP PERFORMERS:
Southampton:
Goals:
Danny Ings 19
Nathan Redmond 5
James Ward-Prowse 4
Assists:
James Ward-Prowse 4
Danny Ings 4
Jack Stephens 3
Watford:
Goals:
Troy Deeney 6
Ismaila Sarr 5
Abdoulaye Doucoure, Gerard Deulofeu 4
Assists:
Gerard Deulofeu 5
Ismaila Sarr 3
Etienne Capoue, Troy Deeney, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Christian Kabasele 2
HEAD TO HEAD
Played 84
Saints 36
Draw 22
Watford 26
LAST FIVE MEETINGS
November 2019: Saints 2-1 Watford (Ings, Ward-Prowse)
April 2019: Watford 1-1 Saints (Long)
November 2018: Saints 1-1 Watford Arsenal (Gabbiadini)
January 2018: Saints 1-0 Watford (Stephens) (FA Cup)
January 2018: Watford 2-2 Saints (Ward-Prowse x2)
DID YOU KNOW?
- Watford are winless in their last six home league games against Southampton (D4 L2), since a 3-2 win in September 2007.
- Southampton are looking to complete their first league double over Watford since the 2011-12 Championship campaign.
- Southampton striker Danny Ings has been directly involved in 10 goals in his last 10 away Premier League starts (8 goals, 2 assists).
KEEP UP TO DATE!
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Check out our interactive match centre at southamptonfc.com, with all of the live in-game updates and free audio commentary of the match, and be sure to follow us on social media for further updates and exclusive content:
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