Liverpool vs Watford
The sign which greets every visiting player before they emerge from the tunnel at Liverpool’s ground reads, loudly and proudly, “This is Anfield.”
The home players love it. But for the visitors, it is less a welcome than a message of foreboding.
During Liverpool’s absolute dominance of the English game throughout the 1970s and 1980s, it was as good as a one-goal start. Visitors knew they were in for a battle and, almost certainly, a defeat.
Manchester United’s Old Trafford had that aura in the 1990s and the early 21st century, but now Anfield is, once again, the most feared ground in Europe and, on Saturday,Premier League: Liverpool vs Watford is the entertainment on offer for the Anfield Kop faithful.
For the poor Hornets, bottom of the league and welcoming their third head coach of the season, entertainment will be the last thing on their minds.
It will be survival.
Liverpool have gone 48 Premier League games unbeaten at Anfield, so where else can we go with our Liverpool vs Watford predictions?
Talking Points
The Red Bandwagon shows no sign of slowing
After coming so close to a stunning Premier League title last term and triumphing in a gruelling Champions League campaign, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool could be excused for the odd slip up this season.
But none of it.
The Reds are marching on and, dispelling concerns in the media and among supporters, Klopp is proving he has a deep enough squad to rely on.
The pre-season SBOBET tips predicted another two-horse race, but a series of shock results for Manchester City have dumped the Sky Blues 14 points behind the leaders.
Former Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has guided Leicester City to second place and just eight points behind, but the latest SBOBET odds have the Reds as short at 1.11 to lift a first league title in 30 years.
Klopp can rotate his squad with confidence, as he did against Everton in the Merseyside Derby last week. He made five changes as the Reds destroyed the Toffees 5-2, a result which saw the end of Marco Silva as Everton head coach.
And just as we thought, the defence of their European crown looked a little shaky, Mo Salah scored a stunning goal to seal Liverpool’s place in the Champions League round of 16.
With players of the calibre of Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain now pushing for places, Klopp has a squad capable of sweeping away all before it.
Can Pearson save the Hornets?
Watford sacked their second head coach of the season last week and doing that before Christmas is impressive even for the trigger happy Hornets. But then they surprised everybody by appointing Nigel Pearson.
The 56-year-old came to prominence when he took Leicester City to promotion in 2014. He then nearly got them relegated the following year before being sacked and replaced by Claudio Ranieri, and we all know what happened next!
To be fair to Pearson, he pulled off a miraculous escape in 2015; his Foxes were all but doomed until they went on a storming run over the last six weeks to preserve their top-flight status.
And that feat may have been enough for the Watford board to give him a chance to show it was not a one-off. Chairman Scott Duxbury said: “Nigel comes with all of the experience and success we believe can have a very positive impact on our season,”
He doesn’t have all the experience and success to face Liverpool, though, so under-23 coach Hayden Mullins will be in charge at Anfield!
Pearson follows Quique Flores who was sacked last week and Javi Gracia who was potted in September. It would be unkind to suggest the limit of the Hornets’ owners’ patience is now down to two months.
If Pearson is to survive much longer, he needs someone to step up and score goals, as the loss of Troy Deeney to injury in the early part of the season means that only Andre Gray and Gerard Deulofeu have scored twice during the campaign.
History
Liverpool have won 11, drawn one and lost two of the 14 meetings between these two sides and the most recent Liverpool vs Watford results give the visitors little cause for optimism.
Last season, the Reds beat Watford 0-3 at Vicarage Road, before swatting the Hornets 5-0 at Anfield in February.
Betting Tip
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Liverpool vs Watford | Liverpool Asian Handicap -2.00 @ 1.92 |
| December 14, 20:30 (GMT+8) |
This is a game where Asian Handicap Betting really comes into play. The odds on Liverpool winning the match, at 1.20, are longer than the odds on them winning the title, but I’m backing a comfortable win as I can’t see any reason why it won’t be.
A scoreline of 3-0 at 7.20 is my outside bet.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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|---|---|---|---|
 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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