Sports Blog 26/09/2016: Premier League Preview – Burnley vs Watford, Monday 26th September 2016

Can Watford build on their recent turnaround in form with a victory over Burnley at 8pm on Sky Sports 1?

On paper the Hornets had a pretty gruelling start to the 2016/17, facing 4 of last season’s top 7 alongside the newly managed Chelsea. And things largely got off as one would expect; an opening draw to Southampton was followed by home losses to Chelsea and Arsenal. In between those somewhat expected defeats came Watford’s recent nadir, a 2-1 EFL Cup loss to Gillingham, at Vicarage Road, during extra time.



However, a trip to the Olympic Stadium, which is fast becoming more than a curse than a blessing for West Ham, saw Watford smash Slaven Bilic’s side 4-2, seems to have sparked a nascent rebound. For that Hammers victory was followed by an even greater scalp, a 3-1 win over Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United. That game saw the 4th league goal of the season for Etienne Capoue, who heads into a Super Mega PGM of 8-11, and the 2nd for Troy Deeney, who heads to Turf Moor at a spread of 24-29.

There were signs, earlier in the season at least, that Burnley were well prepared for their return to the Premier League. While a late defeat to Swansea in their opening game will have been a disappointment, a 2-0 home win over Liverpool in their 2nd match saw the Clarets quickly scale some pretty heady heights. Since then, however, Burnley haven’t quite managed to build on that victory, with a point against Hull sandwiched between losses to Chelsea and Leicester.

Another issue for Sean Dyche’s men has been a lack of goals, with the 2 they scored against Liverpool joined by a solitary strike from Steven Defour in their draw against Hull. Worryingly that looks unlikely to change any time soon, especially with Andre Gray banned for 4 games, meaning there will be extra pressure on Sam Vokes, who has a Super Mega PGM of 23-28, to re-find last season’s form quick-sharp.

Despite a divergence in form, Monday night’s game will likely be tight, with Spreadex offering a Watford/Burnley (h) Goal Supremacy spread of 0.1-0.3 alongside a Total Goals spread of 2.4-2.6.