12 Jun 2019
Watford could secure an historic double and Arsenal could are also fighting on two fronts. There is plenty to play for in Monday night’s Premier League clash.
Watford sit in tenth place in the table, just a point behind seventh-placed Leicester and have a potential Europa League spot in their sights. Should they lose the FA Cup final to Manchester City, seventh place will offer a Europa League spot next season.
With Chelsea losing 2-0 at Liverpool on Sunday, Arsenal are currently sixth, three points behind the fourth-placed Blues but have two games in hand on them. They are just a point behind Manchester United and the prospect of Champions League football next season is in their own hands. As such, they are 5/6 to finish in the top four, with Chelsea at 5/4 and United currently 2/1.
Arsenal’s away form has been patchy, however. They have won just five times away from the Emirates Stadium (D4 L6), so for all the improvements under Unai Emery, this is something that must change if Arsenal are to challenge Europe’s elite.
Furthermore, they have not beaten a team above 16th place on the road and have conceded in every single away game.
They have just one win in their last nine on the road and slipped to a 1-0 defeat at Everton in their last outing.
The Genting Casino Premier League odds for Arsenal to win at Vicarage Road are 23/20, while it is 12/5 that they keep a clean sheet against Watford.
There are a couple of trend that favour the visitors, however. Arsenal have not lost back-to-back trips to Vicarage Road since a couple of 2-0 defeats in 1987, while Watford have won only two of their 15 Premier League games when playing on a Monday night (D5 L8).
Watford, whom the odds-makers feel could be suffering from an FA Cup semi-final victory hangover, are available at 23/10 to win on the Genting Casino Premier League soccer odds.
A draw has been a rarity in recent meetings, with none of the last 20 clashes ending in a stalemate. The odds for a draw are 13/5.
TEAM NEWS
Arsenal will be without central defender Sokratis Papastathopolous, who begins a two-match domestic suspension after he collected his 10th yellow card of the season at Goodison Park.
Midfielder Granit Xhaka is also battling a groin strain and could be rested in the hope he is fit for Arsenal’s Europa League quarter-final second-leg tie in Napoli barely 72 hours after this clash.
However, long-term absentees Hector Bellerin, Rob Holding and Danny Welbeck are all still out.
Watford will likely have Gerard Deulofeu in the line-up after being taken off in the aftermath of his two-goal Wembley heroics against Wolves. He is 11/5 to score at any time.
Yet the Hornets will miss Domingos Quina, Tom Cleverley and Jose Holibas through injury, and are sweating on the fitness of Kiki Femenia, Adalberto Penaranda and Isaac Success.
ARSENAL’S NIGHT?
The Gunners like the bright lights of Monday night football, as they have won seven of their last eight, losing only to Crystal Palace. Emery’s side are 9/4 to be leading at half-time and full-time.
Watford are unbeaten in their last five Premier League home games and have won their last three. They have not won four on the spin in the top flight at Vicarage Road since December 1986 and some may think that the 4/6 odds for Watford to win or draw the game on the Double Chance market might be the way to go.
Goals are usually the norm when these two meet. No less than 11 of the last 12 meetings yielded three goals or more and it is 4/7 that over 2.5 goals will be scored in the clash. Seven of those 11 meetings saw both sides find the net and it is 1/2 that both sides score this time.
The Gunners have netted in each of their last six trips to Vicarage Road and given their knack of conceding on the road this season, it is no surprise to see Arsenal at 12/5 to win but concede.
The visitors will hope that top scorer Pierre Patrick-Aubameyang will be on the mark. He has scored 17 goals this season, but has failed to get on the scoresheet in the last five away games and is 19/20 to score at any time and 4/1 to score two or more.
The hosts have had a week to recover from their thrilling Wembley comeback, where striker Troy Deeney gave his all. Deeney has scored nine times this season and is 21/10 to net at any stage, and 13/2 to score the first goal.
For all the odds on this big game, click here.
