One of only four games still going on Tuesday afternoon in the Premier League, a stuttering West Ham visit Vicarage Road to face off against a Watford side who score plenty, but are seemingly unable to defend. All in all I think this game looks great for a Bet Builder, with Moyes’ West Ham undoubtedly keen to put behind them their recent poor run of form and reignite a faltering charge for the Champions League places, whilst Claudio Ranieri will be all too aware that Watford managers have a limited shelf-life, especially when points are hard to come by.
The form guide shows two teams really struggling of late, West Ham arrive to face the Hornets having just a single draw to show for their efforts in their last 5 games, a 0-0 away to Burnley, and are now sitting on just one win in their last seven in the league, their admittedly impressive 2-1 win against Chelsea. They will see a trip to just outside the capital as a massive opportunity, but the home side will be thinking the same, and sensing weakness in the heart of the West Ham defence which is missing Angelo Ogbonna sorely. Watford also have just one win in 7 games, the 4-1 defeat of Manchester United that finally ended the reign of Ole Gunnar Solskjær. They have lost their last four and will now be increasingly worried about the prospect of finding themselves in the relegation zone very soon.
Watford v West Ham Bet Builder Tips
Both Teams To Score
Watford’s increasing desire to attack has lead to some great games in recent weeks, and their main asset is their forward line, which has continued to provide goals in the absence of Ismaila Sarr. They have scored in all of their last five Premier League games, and all five games also saw them concede, so Both Teams to Score landing is a common theme in recent weeks for Watford. They will be confident of continuing this run, as West Ham are on a shocking run of conceding, having kept just one clean sheet in the Premier League throughout November and December, that 0-0 at Turf Moor earlier this month.
West Ham’s form has been on the slide, and it cannot be avoided that their attacking output has dried up somewhat, however they are too good of a team to not test what is essentially still a Championship-level Watford backline. They have scored in both of their previous two games after a run of three blanks, and they will be confident of keeping this up against a Watford side yet that has kept just one clean sheet all season long, a 1-0 defeat of Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup way back in August.
Emmanuel Dennis to Score Anytime
Dennis has 7 goals in 14 starts so far this season, an impressive return for any striker, let alone one playing for a side in 17th position in the table. Dennis has scored four goals in Watford’s last 5 games, and at odds of 3.75 looks a great addition to any Bet Builder. The in-form Nigerian striker is outperforming his xG to a huge degree, expected to score just 3.9 goals, his return of 7 indicates a player full of confidence who is finishing chances from difficult positions.
Dennis’ pace will stand him in good stead to face a West Ham backline that is far from the most mobile. If the game becomes stretched he will find himself with plenty of opportunities and while he is bang in form there is little reason to imagine he won’t finish at least one of them.
As the Cheat Sheet shows, Dennis is hitting the most Shots on Target per 90 across both sides, and while three West Ham players take more Shots per 90 (Bowen, Benrahma and Antonio all beating out Dennis’ 2.47), nobody on the pitch reaches more than 1 Shot on Target per 90, whereas Dennis is currently achieving 1.31.
Watford to Win or Draw
Whilst Watford have not played in over a week, West Ham have played just two days earlier, and they will be missing by far their most important player as Declan Rice has picked up five bookings and will be suspended for this one. Watford will not have a better chance to take points off a team at the business end of the table all season, and I’m sure the players and fans at Vicarage Road will be all too aware. West Ham’s creaking defensive line has not stood up well to any kind of pressure in the last few weeks and one thing Watford have been excellent at this season is taking apart teams who have not set up well defensively.
They will attack on the counter against the unconvincing Issa Diop and 31-year old Craig Dawson, and will doubtless be able to expose them throughout the game, whilst they also possess some clinical finishers who will be able to put the ball in the back of the net. Should Watford gain a foothold in the game they will put their bodies on the line to defend it, being absolutely desperate to prevent a repeat of their last fixture which saw them collapse late on away to Brentford.
It may seem as though this would be a surprising result, but considering the condition of both sides, I would not be shocked at all to see Watford get something from this game. West Ham are not playing well, are now missing their captain and best player so far this season, whilst their defence continues to underperform in the wake of a mini-injury crisis. Watford will cause them problems and have a great chance to pile more misery on the Hammers.
Over 2.5 Goals
West Ham’s last nine Premier League games have seen over 2.5 goals land on five occasions, whereas their hosts for this one have seen over 2.5 goals in all five of their last five league fixtures. Vicarage Road then is the place to be for Premier League goals right now, and as I am expecting goals from both sides in this match, over 2.5 goals seems a no-brainer, with either side entirely capable of scoring multiple times.
West Ham have plenty of attractive attacking options, and currently have 5 players who have scored multiple times in the league this season. They have struggled somewhat without Michail Antonio firing like he was at the start of the season, but a goal against Southampton will have done him the world of good, and he will be keen to prove his return to form with another here at Vicarage Road. Only five teams have more goals in the league this season than the Hammers.
Watford, as mentioned above have a surprisingly effective attacking unit, and will cause any team problems on their day. They have conceded more goals than all but four sides in the league this season, but sit solidly midtable for goals scored, 10th, with 21 goals. All in all, it would be extremely surprising not to see the goals flowing at Vicarage Road on Tuesday afternoon.
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* I recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets, my predicted line-ups can be found below *
Watford v West Ham Predicted Line-ups
Watford Predicted 11 v West Ham: Bachmann; Femenia, Troost-Ekong, Cathcart, Rose; Sissoko, Kucka; Pedro, Cleverley, King; Dennis (4-2-3-1)
West Ham Predicted 11 v Watford: Fabianski; Coufal, Dawson, Diop, Johnson; Kral, Soucek; Bowen, Lanzini, Benrahma, Antonio (4-2-3-1)
Watford v West Ham United Cheat Sheet
* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing *
How to watch Watford v West Ham in The Premier League
📅 When is Watford v West Ham? / Tuesday, 28th December 2021, 15:00
🏟 Where is Watford v West Ham? / Vicarage Road (Watford)
📺 What TV Channel is Watford v West Ham? / Amazon Prime
📱 Online Live Streaming for Watford v West Ham / bet365
🟨 …And who is the referee for Watford v West Ham? / Darren England 🏴
