With just 4 more wins required to mathematically secure the Premier League trophy, Liverpool travel to struggling Watford on Saturday night looking to take another big step towards a drought-breaking league title. With 11 games to go, the Reds have the finish line in sight but will need to be careful they don’t take Nigel Pearson’s relegation candidates for granted.
Pearson is the Hornets’ third manager of the season with the Pozzo family sacking both Javi Gracia and his replacement Quique Sanchez Flores before the turn of the year. The former Leicester manager oversaw a short term upturn in form with Watford winning 4 of Pearson’s first 7 games in charge, though that optimism has rather abated in recent weeks.
That run was enough to take the Hornets from rock bottom and 6 points from safety in December to second bottom and just 1 point from safety come the end of February but Pearson’s men are far from out of the woods. Having failed to win any of their last 5 games in the league and knocked out of the Carabao Cup by League One Tranmere, Watford still have a mountain to climb to maintain their Premier League status.
The Hornets’ struggles this seasons have come as somewhat of a surprise on the back of 4 consecutive Premier League seasons without ever finishing with less than 40 points or seriously in trouble. Last season was the best of the bunch with Watford finishing in 11th with 50 points and looking to push even higher up the table this season.
It wasn’t like Gracia lost a number of big-names in the transfer market that would explain the Hornets’ difficult season, though a lack of many big name additions may have seen their rivals make up ground. However, Watford have had some injury troubles losing club captain Troy Deeney for 9 games earlier in the season while right-back Daryl Janmaat has been absent since November with a knee injury.
To make matters worse for Pearson, Watford have a largely terrible record against the Reds in recent seasons which continued back in December at Anfield in the Englishman’s second game in charge. In fact, over the last 4 Premier League meetings between these sides, Liverpool have beaten the Hornets, on aggregate, 15-0 including to 5-0 drubbings at Anfield.
However, prior to that, the Hornets won a creditable point at Vicarage Road after a 3-3 draw on the opening day of the 2017/18 season and upset the Reds 3-0 in December 2015 at the same venue. While those are the Hornets’ only positive results against Liverpool since returning to the Premier League, those results show the Reds will need to be on their toes away from home.
One of Watford’s problems this season has been scoring enough goals to beat the drop with 24 in 27 games the equal worst record in the division and Deeney the club’s top scorer with just 5 strikes. Meanwhile, Gerald Deulofeu’s 4 goals and 5 assists marks him as the Hornet’s most creative player, though the Spaniard has once against experienced an inconsistent season.
With an easier run around the corner including 4 teams from the bottom half in their next 6 games, Watford’s relegation is far from a foregone conclusion. While a result against the Premier League leaders may be a steep task, the Hornets’ will take heart from the Reds’ slight dip since the winter break.
In between struggling to 1 goal victories against sides near the bottom of the table, Jurgen Klopp’s men succumbed to a 1-0 loss in Madrid that leaves work to do in the Champions League Round of 16 tie. In many ways, the fixture list could not have been kinder for Liverpool who host Bournemouth next week to complete 4 games in a row against sides in the bottom 5.
It won’t take Klopp’s phenomenal side long to kick back into top gear and with a record 19th-straight Premier League victory on the line, Watford may have to prepare for a tough night. With changes likely for the midweek FA Cup fifth round tie with Chelsea, the Reds will be able to focus on the task at hand and could give Pearson another tough night.
Team News
Pearson is back at close to a full squad to chose from with Janmaat returning to full training this week after more than 3 months out of the side through injury. In fact, the only player who Watford are definitely without fellow full-back Kiko Femenia who is also back in training but not yet match fit.
In their absence, Pearson has rotated centre-backs Craig Dawson and Adrian Mariappa on the right side of the defence with the rest of the back 4 relatively settled. Meanwhile, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Etienne Capoue have been close to ever-present in midfield all season with Will Hughes or Nathaniel Chalobah likely to complete the side.
Out wide, Deulofeu is one of the first names on the team sheet from the left-hand side while Roberto Pereyra position on the right also seems relatively safe with Ismaila Sarr likely his closest competition. Finally, up front Deeney is Watford’s talisman and is the man who looks to make the rest of the side work, though Pearson may need to give him a strike partner in the coming weeks if goals remain an issue.
For the Reds, both captain Jordan Henderson and vice-captain James Milner remain sidelined along with Xherdan Shaqiri, though those are the Reds’ only current injury concerns. In the absence of his designated leaders on the field, Klopp will more than likely again hand the captain’s armband to Virgil van Dijk meaning that there will be no leadership void at Vicarage Road.
With the visit to Stamford Bridge on the horizon and the likelihood that Klopp will heavily rotate for the FA Cup, expect the German to field a full-strength side as his side chase these last 4 wins. The likes of Dejan Lovren, Joel Matip, Divock Origi and Adrian will have to content themselves with minutes alongside the kids on Tuesday night with midfield the only really contentious selection.
It seems likely that Fabinho, still working his way back to full fitness, will anchor the midfield away from home with Georginio Wijnaldum also close to a certainty the 5th most minutes of any Liverpool player this season. Having made an impact from the bench against West Ham, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is likely to complete the midfield though don’t be surprised if Klopp shows faith in Naby Keita after an indifferent performance against the Hammers.
Prediction
As with seemingly every week at the moment, it is hard to see how Watford can get anything out of this record-breaking Liverpool side, especially given the Hornets’ offence is coming up against the best defence in the league. Sooner or later the Reds will get back to their form from earlier this season and while that may not happen at Vicarage Road, I think the Reds will run out comfortable 2-0 winners on the night.
The Anfield Chronicle 