Match Preview: Brighton v Watford
When will people stop underestimating Watford? Every season they’re considered as a soft touch or candidates for relegation and every season they defy those expectations by staying comfortably clear of the drop zone.
This season has been no different. In fact, this season the predictions of doom were stronger than ever and their response has been even more impressive, the Hornets currently sitting ninth in the Premier League table and well in the running for a European spot.
Despite their lofty position, a lot of Brighton fans seem to be thinking that it should be a routine victory for the Albion when Watford come to town. But even before you took into account the catastrophic second half collapse at Craven Cottage on Tuesday night, this looked a remarkably tough test. And after events at Fulham, it looks that little bit harder.
Who are Watford?
Watford have had a remarkably similar history to the Albion. Both sides have spent most of their past bouncing around between the second, third and fourth tiers of English football with a couple of flirtatious periods with the top flight thrown in for good measure. For the Hornets, the most successful of those came under the chairmanship of Elton John and the management of Graham Taylor when between 1977 and 1983, the club rose from Division Four to finish second in the top flight and reach the FA Cup final in 1984. After Taylor’s departure in 1987, Watford went into decline but just to prove that their rise through the divisions wasn’t a fluke, he returned to Vicarage Road in 1997 and repeated the trick by winning back-to-back promotions from third tier to the Premier League. All of which must make him the second most talented Taylor in history after Taylor Swift. It should also shame those who used to refer to him as a turnip after his spell in charge of England.
What are they like now?
Watford’s current period of success began when the Pozzo Family bought the club in 2012. Already the owners of Udinese in their native Italy and Spanish side Grenada, initially there was much suspicion about their motives, especially when players began moving between the three sides like couples at a swingers party. It’s fair to say though that the Pozzo’s have been pretty good owners, delivering Premier League football at the end of their third season at the helm. Most impressive of all is the way they’ve made a mockery out of the idea that you have to have stability for success in football, having rattled seamlessly through 10 managers during their reign (which would make a brilliant special edition of Guess Who – is it Giuseppe Sannino? Is it our own former boss Oscar Garcia? Is it Walter Mazzarri?). The current incumbent of the hot seat is Javi Gracia, who took over from Marco Silva last January and as we’ve already noted, he’s got Watford flying as they chase a place in the Europa League.
Which players should we be worried about?
Watford’s strength this season has been in their midfield. Abdoulaye Doucoure’s talents have been attracting plenty of attention from the likes of Chelsea and Paris Saint Germain whilst Roberto Pereyra is the Hornets’ top scorer with six. Given Lewis Dunk and Shane Duffy’s struggles in recent weeks against big, strong target men such as Aleksandar Mitrović in the 4-2 defeat at Fulham and Marko Arnautović in the 2-2 draw against West Ham United, Troy Deeney will probably fancy his chances of inflicting more misery on the Albion defence.
What’s the Albion’s record against Watford like?
We’ve been frequent opponents over the past century, racking up 151 games against each other across 10 different competitions. The Albion have 59 wins to their name and Watford 52 with the other 40 games ending in draws. In recent times, the Hornets have enjoyed their trips to Sussex with last year’s 1-0 Brighton win their only defeat on the south coast in over a decade. Their promotion to the Premier League was even confirmed at the Amex after a 2-0 victory in the penultimate game of the 2014-15 season.
What’s the best WeAreBrighton.com memory of Watford at home?
Steve Coppell’s Brighton side delivered a number of memorable performances in their ultimately unsuccessful battle to avoid relegation in the second half of the 2002-03 season. One of those came when Watford were blown away 4-0 at Withdean in the final throes of the campaign by goals from Dean Blackwell, Paul Kitson, Bobby Zamora and Charlie Oatway. It was a performance so impressive that it led to the sight of 44-year-old Albion goalkeeper Dave Beasant performing the worm in his own penalty box to celebrate after Oatway added the fourth.
What’s the worst WeAreBrighton.com memory of Watford at home?
On the day that Watford won promotion at the Amex, we took along one of our friends who is a Hornets fan but was unable to get a ticket in the away end. Needless to say, she wanted to celebrate their new Premier League status afterwards and so we took her on a pub crawl of Brighton and Hove, a dangerous move given the game had kicked off at lunchtime. Needless to say, it ended with a lot of sick from a lot of different parties in Temple Bar on Western Road by about 7pm.
Who’s played for both sides?
Brighton and Watford were the two English clubs that American goalkeeper Tony Meola played for during a career which also involved getting drafted by the New York Yankees, playing NFL for the New York Jets, appearing in an off-Broadway play, starring in a movie alongside an Oscar-nominated actor and being a drummer in a band described as “New Jersey’s hottest cover band”. Other individuals who didn’t do quite as much as Meola but who also played for both include Chris Iwelumo, Mark Yeates, Will Buckley, Will Hoskins and Perry Digweed.
Other than football, what is Watford famous for?
Given that it’s one of the worst away days in the Premier League for pubs, it seems extraordinary that the town used to be known for it’s breweries to the point where before they were known as the Hornets, Watford’s nickname was actually the Brewers. Nowadays, it’s home to Warner Bros. Studios, where popular movie franchises such as Harry Potter were filmed (insert the same joke we’ve made in every Watford match preview over the past 10 years about Hermione Granger’s Chamber of Secrets).
Where’s the betting value for Brighton v Watford?
Games between the Albion and Watford tend to be tight affairs, with both sides scoring on only one occasion out of the past six meetings. That makes both teams to score no a decent price at 51/50. Glenn Murray ended his two-month long goal drought against Fulham in midweek and we know from experience that his goals tend to come in fits and spurts which suggests he could well hit the net again against the Hornets, so back him anytime at 13/8.
Prediction
A lot will hinge on how badly shipping four goals in 45 minutes to the second-worst team in the Premier League has affected the Albion players. If they’re suffering from shell shock or a loss of confidence, Watford are the sort of dangerous opponents who can take advantage. If there is no lasting damage, then expect a big reaction. We’re guessing it will be somewhere in the middle, which will probably result in a 1-1 draw.
