Watford Ready To Ram Woeful Derby

Second-placed Watford travel to the Midlands to take on stuttering Derby County in the Championship in Good Friday’s late game.

Form
Without a win, or a clean sheer, in any of their last six games, Derby have dropped to fifth from the top spot which seemed their’s for the taking with only two points earned in the month of March. Steve McClaren’s side are now one of a sizeable pack chasing the top two spots which would see them earning a lucrative place in the English top flight next season although they will be hopeful of making a late charge as they face five of the bottom seven in their remaining seven games.

With 19 goals for the season Chris Martin is the club’s top scorer by some distance and his absence has been sorely missed over the last month as they’ve scored only three times without the Scot.

Watford suffered a first loss in seven games following a 1-0 defeat to Ipswich a fortnight ago but remain just a point off Bournemouth on top of the table after picking up 16 points from the previous 18 available.

Slasiva Jokanovic’s side have lost just twice since February however,

…although with Middlesbrough only behind the Rams on goal difference, Norwich just two points further adrift in fourth and only eight points separating the top eight they’ve little room for error in the chase for automatic promotion as the Championship reaches a thrilling finale.

Troy Deeney is the Hornets’ top scorer with 19 league goals this season although Odion Ighalo is just two behind him and has scored 14 in his previous 12 league appearances.

Team News
Defender Jake Buxton and midfielder Omar Mascarell are unlikely to figure again this season for Derby having been sidelined with a back problem and torn knee tendon respectively since early last month. Martin should be available for selection following a hamstring problem.

Watford are without defender Joel Ekstrand for the rest of the season, and possibly the year, after the Swede suffered a cruciate knee ligament injury in the first half of their win over Ipswich, Matthew Connolly could take his spot in the side having joined until the end of the season on loan. Ikechi Anya could return to the starting line-up after the Scottish international had to make do with a place on the bench against Ipswich.

Head-to-Head
Derby came out on top when the sides met at Vicarage Road last November with Craig Bryson grabbing a late winner in a 2-1 win, a third straight victory for them in this fixture and fourth in the last five. Both sides have scored in each of the past six meetings between the teams, who haven’t played out a draw since 2006.

Recommended Bets
At just above evens in the match betting and in woeful form there’s not much to be said for a Derby win against a confident Watford side who’ve picked up as many away wins as anyone in the division and that looks a good bet here again at a meaty 5/2, while the 8/11 Draw/Watford in the double chance looks decent as an insurance bet.

Both teams can score again for the seventh time in a row in this fixture too, with Over 2.5 goals a worthy 20/23 shot and Igalho looks a great punt at 6/1 to score first and 9/5 anytime.