Both of these sides have had a good start to the season but come into this match having lost a game in the last week. Burnley lost at Leicester City last Saturday and need to get back on track, while Watford only have one point from their last two league games. This could be a fascinating fixture between a home side that doesn’t give much away and a team that consistently scores away goals.
Burnley start the weekend in 7th place but having lost two of their last three league games. A last-minute penalty cost them the game against Arsenal and then they lost at Leicester last weekend. They are still only four points adrift of the Champions League places but have a mixed run of fixtures over the next month. They follow this up with a home game against Stoke City and a trip to Brighton but then have Spurs, Manchester United and Liverpool to face.
Goals are the problem for Burnley with only five in their seven home league games. Strangely for a side so high in the table, they have failed to score in three of their seven home matches. Luckily for them, but not their goal-starved fans, they have only conceded three home league goals, one of them being that penalty by Sanchez. Eight of their last ten league games have had under 2.5 goals scored in them and every single home match this season with four having under 1.5 goals.
Now they face a Watford side who have scored 15 goals on their travels this season. Each and every one of their seven away games have seen them score at least twice, including visits to Chelsea and Everton and their last away league match saw them beat Newcastle United 3-0. Whereas 14 Burnley league games have seen just 26 goals scored, Watford’s have had 51 with 25 scored and 26 conceded.
Their last two league games have seen them well beaten 4-2 by Manchester United and a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Tottenham. They could have won the latter considering their opponents were reduced to ten men. Watford have won four of their away league games this season with their only two defeats being at Chelsea and that incredible collapse when losing 3-2 at Everton after leading 2-0.
Whether we get something as thrilling as that at Turf Moor remains to be seen but Doucoure and Richarlison will both give Burnley something to think about and a two-goal win for Watford would take them above their opponents and with Crystal Palace, Watford and Huddersfield Town up next, they could go on a bit of a run.
Conclusion
Burnley fans would love to see a thrilling match as an early Christmas bonus. It’s been a long run of low scoring games for a while at Turf Moor but that might change this weekend. The home side need some points after earning just three from their last three matches, while Watford are scoring regularly on the road but also conceding with an average of 3.5 in their away league matches this season. Just how Burnley react if Watford come out playing their normal way is going to be interesting and a bet on both teams to score looks the one to go for in this game.
The Key Stats
Last Five Premier League Results – Most recent first
Burnley – LWLWW
Watford – DLWWL
Head to Head – Last Five League Meetings
04/02/17 – Watford 2 Burnley 1
26/09/16 – Burnley 2 Watford 0
05/04/14 – Watford 1 Burnley 1
03/12/13 – Burnley 0 Watford 0
29/03/13 – Watford 3 Burnley 3
- Four of the last six games between these two sides have ended in a draw.
- Burnley are unbeaten in their last nine home games against Watford, last losing in 2004.
- Both teams have scored in eight of the last ten games between these two sides.
- Seven Burnley home Premier League games this season have only seen eight goals scored.
- The last seven and eight of the last ten Burnley home Premier League games have had under 2.5 goals scored in them.
- Watford have scored at least twice in each of their seven away Premier League games this season.
- Both teams have scored in four of the last five Watford away Premier League games.
- Both teams have scored in seven of the last ten Watford Premier League games.
- The last seven Watford league goals have all been scored by different players.