Watford vs Aston Villa

Newly-promoted Watford will be looking for a flying start to the new Premier League season as they welcome Aston Villa to Vicarage Road.

Watford displayed their ‘bounce-back-ability’ in the 2020/21 campaign to ensure a swift top-flight return after just one season away. A strong start here is well on the cards now, as the ‘Hornets’ have lost their opening match in just one of the last 14 domestic league seasons (W7, D6). Adding to their confidence, the hosts have won both of their previous top-flight H2Hs on home turf, notably netting three goals on each occasion. Despite playing in England’s second-tier competition, Watford boasted the best home record in the country’s top four divisions, racking up a staggering 59 points from their 23 home fixtures (W19, D2, L2). What’s more, Xisco Muñoz’s side concluded last season on a run of nine consecutive home league victories, all of which saw them keep a first-half clean sheet and draw first blood.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa’s mid-table finish last season comes as an encouragement as they embark on a new life without long-serving stalwart Jack Grealish. Villa claimed back-to-back 2-1 wins over Tottenham and Chelsea to conclude the 2020/21 season on a high note and will now be looking to put together three consecutive Premier League wins for the first time since the beginning of last season (4). Despite an indifferent away form down the final stretch of the previous campaign (W2, D1, L2), Dean Smith’s men found the back of the net on all five occasions, which hasn’t been the case in two of their last three top-flight trips to Watford. Curiously, the ‘Villans‘ have not drawn their first away league game of the season in each of the last nine campaigns (W5, L4).