Watford vs Tottenham Hotspur. Premier League.
Vicarage RoadAttendance20,882.
Sunday 1 January 2017 16:03, UK
Tottenham can move above Arsenal with a win at Watford in the first Premier League game of 2017.
The Gunners' fixture follows Watford versus Spurs on Nissan Super Sunday, and Tottenham could put added pressure on their rivals by displacing them in the top four.
Tottenham have won four of their last five league matches in December, but had failed to win any of their last eight games away from home in all competitions prior to Wednesday's 4-1 thrashing of Southampton.
Troy Deeney secured his 100th Watford goal in their 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace on Boxing Day, but the Hornets have lost their opening league game of a calendar year for five successive years (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016).
Watford manager Walter Mazzarri wanted to rest his captain against the Eagles but was forced to bring him on after just 14 minutes, following an injury to Valon Behrami.
And Watford's injury issues mean Deeney may be needed from the start against Spurs.
"I will see because I need to understand what type of formation we are going to play up front," Mazzarri said. "Depending on that, we will see what kind of striker to use.
"For sure we have got (Odion) Ighalo and Deeney who are okay, but Jerome Sinclair is also available. I need to know how to rotate them."
Mazzarri could be without as many as nine first-team players for the visit of Spurs, and most of those will remain absent for the clash with Stoke just two days later.
Toby Alderweireld will return after a virus to boost Tottenham's defensive resources for the New Year's Day clash at Watford.
Jan Vertonghen and Kyle Walker are suspended for the Premier League encounter after collecting five bookings for one-match bans. Erik Lamela remains sidelined with a hip problem.
Watford have never beaten Tottenham in a Premier League match, drawing twice and losing four.
Spurs' win in this exact fixture in December 2015 is their only victory in their last six league trips to Vicarage Road (D3 L2).
Harry Kane has scored seven goals in his last eight Premier League appearances in January.
Watford's only three Premier League clean sheets in their last 23 games came consecutively at the end of October - they have conceded in each of their last eight matches.
Deeney has scored against 38 different opposition sides during his Watford career in all competitions, but he's never scored against Spurs (three appearances).
Kane could make his 100th Premier League appearance in this match. Kane has 57 goals in 99 Premier League appearances so far - only eight players have scored more than this in their opening 100 Premier League matches.
I saw Watford against Crystal Palace and they looked pretty abject. For Tottenham, going 1-0 down at St Mary's and then to play the way they did - chipping away - they looked brilliant. Dele Alli looks back to where he was last year.
With Alli, he's one of those players who Spurs needed to get back to where he was last season, when he won all of those accolades, and he has in the last two games - there's no doubt about that.
PAUL PREDICTS: 0-3 (11/1 with Sky Bet)
Tottenham head to Watford as 4/6 favourites as they look to follow up an impressive 4-1 victory over Southampton in midweek. Another away win of the same scoreline is 28/1 in the correct score market, with 1-1 and 1-0 Spurs considered most likely as 11/2 apiece. Watford are 17/4 for the win and the draw is priced at 11/4, while Tottenham to win 3-0, 3-1 or 3-2 is 9/2 in the correct score group betting. Tottenham's Kane is the clear 7/2 favourite to score first.
