Watford vs Liverpool

Vicarage Road is the venue as newly-promoted Watford take on one of the leading Premier League title contenders Liverpool in a potentially high-scoring affair.

An underwhelming start to the season has seen Watford amass just seven of a possible 21 Premier League points (W2, D1, L4) as they head into proceedings harboring a slender four-point lead over relegation-threatened Burnley. The ‘Hornets’ have experienced mixed fortunes across their inaugural three Premier League home matches so far (W1, D1, L1), conceding 2+ goals twice in the process. Indeed, Watford’s defensive frailties have seen them fail to keep a clean sheet in all seven top-flight fixtures to date. New manager Claudio Ranieri couldn’t have asked for the sternest test on his Vicarage Road debut. Despite claiming an overwhelming 3-0 victory in their most recent Premier League meeting with Liverpool, the hosts have never managed back-to-back league victories over this opposition. Yet, that triumph halted their eight-match winless H2H run in the Premier League (D1, L7), highlighting the potential for another upset here.

On the other hand, Liverpool welcomed the international break as the only side yet to taste a bite of defeat in the Premier League this term (W4, D3). However, the ‘Reds’ have gone from a brace of 3-0 victories over Leeds United and Crystal Palace to back-to-back high-scoring draws with Brentford and Manchester City. Despite their recent defensive woes, Jurgen Klopp’s men have been scoring for fun this season, netting a league-high 17 goals thus far, on an average of 2.42 per match. Topically, the Merseyside giants have bagged precisely three goals in each of their three Premier League travels this term, with six of those nine strikes arriving beyond half-time. In turn, six of their seven overall top-flight visits to Vicarage Road have seen at least one side net 3+ goals, meaning we could have an action-packed football on our hands here.