English Premier League: West Ham vs. Watford Betting Preview, Odds, Prediction

The most significant game of the season for both West Ham and Watford is ahead of them. Whoever wins here should be safe when talking about the relegation battle in the English Premier League. The one who loses.. well, we’ll just say that the last two rounds would be pretty complicated. Both clubs are coming into this event after wins in previous games, and with solid morale. Expect a classic English football here, with lots of fights, tough challenges, and extremely high tension on the pitch. 

Preview

West Ham (+235) lost just one match in the previous four, and that was at home against Burnley. But an easy draw, and a trip to Carrow Road where they defeated already relegated Norwich 0-4, erased the slip against the Clarets.

The Hammers played 2-2 on the road against Newcastle, and defeated Chelsea 3-2 before that, and seven points from these four matches propelled them above the red line, leaving Bournemouth and Aston Villa below.

As you see, three of the previous four events they had saw over 3.5 goals, and there is a trend for the Hammers to start playing open if the circumstances allow that.

Watford (+240) is on a two-game winning streak both with the same result, 2-1. The Hornets have defeated Norwich and Newcastle at their Vicarage Road, getting six points which are incredibly important in this survival battle. 

The last four games all saw three or more hits, but that is something expected from this team. Watford likes to play offensive, even if that means that they might allow goals on the other side. Truth to be told, they don’t have such a reliable defense to count on, and lately, the focus has been shifted to attacking instead of defending. It gave some results now. 

Latest News

Robert Snodgrass and Felipe Anderson are doubtful, but there are not expected to start the match. There were some rumors that Anderson might recover, yet nothing has been confirmed. 

On the other side, Troy Deeney is questionable, and that would be a massive blow for the guests to appear without their best player. Daryl Janmaat, Gerard Deulofeu and Isaac Success are all injured. 

Head to Head Record

These two sides played 78 games so far, with the Hammers winning 44 of them, and on the other hand, Watford posting 21 wins. The remaining 13 meetings had no winners. 

West Ham easily defeated Watford on the road in the first part of the season, 1-3. Sebastian Haller scored two goals in the second half, making a difference on the field. Noble opened the show in the third minute from the penalty, while Andre Gray leveled the score, netting the only goal for the Hornets.

Prediction

Our friend Kurt Boyer sees this one as an efficient match, and so do we. It is “do or die” for both teams, and there isn’t too much room for either side to calculate. The offensive approach is a must for both Hammers and the Hornets, and with both sides having mediocre defenses, we are suggesting both teams to score and over 2.5 goals. The moneyline here is +140. The oddsmakers aren’t convinced in high-efficiency, but we are.