Premier League preview and odds: Watford vs Crystal Palace

Published on: 23/12/2016

Premier League preview and odds: Watford vs Crystal Palace

December 26, 2016 13:30pm - Vicarage Road

Referee: M. Clattenburg

Premier League

Watford will look to bring some Christmas cheer to their fans when they host manager-less Crystal Palace at the Hawthorns on Boxing Day.

Four defeats in five for Watford

A run of four Premier League defeats in five matches has seen Watford slip out of the top 10 and into 12th place in the table. They have lost their last two in a row without scoring a goal - however, both of those games were played away from Vicarage Road.

On home soil, the stats look much better for the Hornets, with four wins, a draw and a just one defeat in their last six games. Although, they have conceded at least one goal in all but one of their home games this season. Last time out, they fell to a disappointing 1-0 defeat away to relegation strugglers Sunderland.

Meanwhile, Crystal Palace are hoping to have a new manager in place by Monday following the dismissal of Alan Pardew this week. Talk of Pardew`s sacking first emerged several weeks ago - however, the timing of the decision still took many by surprise.

Early candidates for the role include former England boss Sam Allardyce, although it is believed that the board are also looking at several other candidates. With a busy schedule coming up, a quick appointment seems inevitable.

The Eagles have won just one of their last 11 matches and have not won any of their last five away from home. In addition, they have conceded at least one goal in every away game this term, while also scoring in the last seven.

As a result of their poor form, the Londoners have slipped to 17th place in the table just one point above the drop zone.

Team news

The home side will have to make do without the injured trio of Roberto Pereyra (muscle), Adrian Mariappa (knee) and Brice Dja Djedje (foot), while Ben Watson, Sebastian Prodl and Stefano Okaka are all doubtful.

Meanwhile, the visitors have an extensive injury list that includes Bakary Sako (muscle), James Tomkins (groin), Connor Wickham (knee), Steve Mandanda (knee), Jonathan Benteke (meniscus), Pape Soare (surgery) and Loic Remy (quadriceps), while Mathieu Flamini remains a doubt.

Recent form (League):

Watford: LLWLL

Crystal Palace: LLDWL

Betting odds and tips

Watford may have struggled in recent weeks but their home record is still decent. They will hope to take advantage of a team with a poor away record that is also in managerial transition. However, Palace always seem to find a way of at least getting on the score sheet.

You can back the Home win and Both Teams to Score at 4/1 with Bet365.

By Neil Morris

Published on: 23/12/2016

Any odds displayed within this preview were correct at the time of publishing (23/12/2016 13:17:49) but are subject to change.