Newcastle vs Watford Preview: How to Watch, Kick Off Time, Team News, Predictions & More
Newcastle United welcome Watford to St. James' Park in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
Both sides could not be experiencing more contrasting seasons, with Newcastle currently languishing in the relegation zone after their dreadful start, while Watford are sitting pretty in seventh after returning to winning ways in recent weeks.
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Check out 90min's preview of the clash below.
How to Watch
When Is Kick Off? | Saturday 3rd November |
What Time Is Kick Off? | 15:00 (GMT) |
Where Is It Being Played? | St. James' Park |
TV Channel/Live Stream? | Sky Sports (Gillette Soccer Saturday) |
Referee? | Craig Pawson |
Team News
Salomon Rondon was deemed fit enough to return to the Newcastle bench last weekend, which means Rafa Benitez has a fully fit roster to choose from - with the exception of long-term absentee Florent Lejeune.
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Watford captain Troy Deeney was forced to watch from the sidelines during the Hornet's victory over Huddersfield, and he is likely to miss out again on Saturday.
Veteran defender Craig Cathcart was forced off through injury in the second half against Huddersfield, so Javi Gracia may need to carefully consider how to organise his back line.
Predicted Lineups
Newcastle | Dubravka; Yedlin, Lascelles, Fernandez, Dummett; Ritchie, Diame, Shelvey, Kenedy, Perez; Muto. |
Watford | Foster; Femenia, Kabasele, Mariappa, Masina; Doucoure, Capoue; Hughes, Deulofeu, Pereyra; Success. |
Head to Head Record
The two sides have only met each other on 27 occasions before, with Newcastle narrowly having the edge when it comes to head to head results - winning 15 matches compared to Watford's 14.
However, in recent years Watford have dominated this fixture, as the previous five encounters have all ended in a victory for the Hornets.
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The most recent fixture took place at the tail end of the 2017/18 season, where Watford prevailed 2-1 at Vicarage Road courtesy of goals from Roberto Pereyra and Andre Gray.
Recent Form
While Newcastle supporters weren't holding out too much hope for their side this season, they can't have been expecting them to be as abhorrently poor as they have been so far.
There have been very few positives to take away from the Magpies' opening 10 matches and, to make matters worse, they have failed to score in four of their previous five matches.
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At the other end of the scale, Watford recently recovered from a four game winless streak by comfortably winning back to back games against Wolves and Huddersfield; thus consolidating their position in the top half of the table.
Here's how each team have performed in their previous five matches.
Newcastle | Watford |
Southampton 0-0 Newcastle (27/10) | Watford 3-0 Huddersfield (27/10) |
Newcastle 0-1 Brighton (20/10) | Wolves 0-2 Watford (20/10) |
Manchester United 3-2 Newcastle (06/10) | Watford 0-4 Bournemouth (06/10) |
Newcastle 0-2 Leicester City (29/09) | Arsenal 2-0 Watford (29/09) |
Crystal Palace 0-0 Newcastle (22/09) | Tottenham 2(4) - 2(2) Watford (26/09) |
Prediction
Newcastle haven't been rolled over by anyone this season, but their lack of inventiveness and finesse in the final third is a serious cause for concern, and it is hard to see how that aspect of their game is going to improve anytime soon.
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Watford seem to have every aspect of their game locked down and with both Roberto Pereyra and Gerard Deulofeu currently in fine fettle, they are capable of tearing apart the sturdiest of defences.
Nothing can ever be taken for granted in football, but anything other than a win for Watford seems highly unlikely.
Prediction: Newcastle 0-2 Watford
