Watford vs Wolves: Premier League preview, team news, stats, prediction, kick-off time
Wolves striker Raul Jimenez given green light to play; Joao Pedro in line for first Watford appearance; follow Watford vs Wolves in our dedicated live match blog; watch free match highlights on Sky Sports digital platforms and YouTube channel at 5.15pm
Saturday 11 September 2021 17:46, UK
Team news, stats and prediction ahead of Watford vs Wolves in the Premier League on Saturday; kick-off 3pm.
Team news
Watford attacker Joao Pedro could make his first appearance of the season at home to Wolves after he returned to training following a knee injury.
The Brazilian scored nine times in the Sky Bet Championship during the 2020-21 campaign and will be one of many expected to fill the void left by Troy Deeney, who signed for Birmingham at the end of August after spending 11 years at Vicarage Road.
Midfielder Ozan Tufan could make his debut on Saturday, but Ben Foster (hamstring) is injured and Francisco Sierralta's availability remains unknown while Watford continue their dialogue with FIFA after Chile asked for the
defender to be banned having missed international duty over the last week.
Wolves will have Raul Jimenez available for the match after coming to an agreement with the Mexican football federation, after the forward was not allowed to participate on international duty.
Hwang Hee-Chan could be in line for a debut, although is likely to come off the bench, with manager Bruno Lage having just 18 players, and two goalkeepers, at his disposal.
Jonny and Pedro Neto, however, are out and expected to be sidelined for two or three months.
How to follow
Follow Watford vs Wolves in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel at 5.15pm.
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Last time out...
Opta stats
- This will be the fifth Premier League meeting between Watford and Wolves, with each side winning two apiece so far.
- Wolves have won two of their last three away league games against Watford (L1), as many as they had in their previous 13 visits to Vicarage Road (D4 L7).
- Watford have won each of their last 10 home league games, their longest ever winning run at Vicarage Road. The Hornets have kept eight clean sheets in this run, conceding just three goals.
- Since beating Liverpool 3-0 in February 2020, Watford haven't kept a clean sheet in any of their last 13 Premier League matches (W3 D1 L9), also failing to score on six occasions in this run.
- Wolves have lost each of their last six Premier League games, losing each of the last four despite having more shots than their opponents each time. Since 2003-04, only West Bromwich Albion have lost more consecutive Premier League games despite outshooting their opponents each time (5 in 2010-11).
- Wolves have had 57 shots in the Premier League this season (the third highest tally) but are yet to score. Since 2006-07 (when we have exact shot data), only Crystal Palace have had more shots without scoring from the start of a single campaign in the competition (87 in 2017-18, excluding own goals).
- Watford striker Josh King is just two goals away from becoming only the second Norwegian player net 50 times in the Premier League, after OIe Gunnar Solskjaer (91). However, King has failed to score in any of his last 13 top-flight appearances.
