Watford vs Villa: Watford return to the Premier League with an opening fixture against Dean Smith’s Aston Villa at Vicarage Road on Saturday.
Match Details:
Teams: Watford vs Aston Villa
Venue: Vicarage Road Stadium, Watford
Date: Saturday 14th August, 2021
Time: 07:30 PM IST
Live Link: https://www.hotstar.com/in/sports/football
Preview
Watford return to the Premier League this season and open their campaign against Aston Villa on Saturday at home, as they eye a winning return.
Also read: EPL 2021-22 Fixtures and Date: Premier League Details 2021-22| All you need to Know
The Hornets finished runners-up with 91 points in the Championship last season which ensured qualification to the Premier League.
A stellar season under Xisco saw them play brilliant football and ensure they deservedly return to the top tier.
Now, Xisco will be under pressure to help his deliver the goods in the Premier League as well and put in solid performances.
The Watford side had a decent pre-season as well with a win, 2 losses and 2 draws in their 5 matches.
They may not have faced the toughest of opponents but will want to improve on the same coming into the season.
On the other hand, Villa will look to improve on last season’s 11th place finish, which was poor considering their start to the season.
Smith’s side started off brilliantly but drifted away towards half of the season and beyond as Villa missed out in finishing in the top half of the table.
The loss of Grealish to Manchester City will hurt but they would be upbeat to doing well with their talented squad this season.
Aston won 3 of their 4 pre-season matches against Walsall, Bristol, Salernitana and will head into the opening match brimming with confidence.
With the signing of Ings, Villa have a potent striker who they can rely on and is expected to fire for them this season.
Back together again. 👊 pic.twitter.com/OCMHzESk5O
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) August 9, 2021
Both sides met in the Premier League 2019-20 season with Villa winning 2-1.
Deeney opened the scoring for Watford before second half goals from Luiz and Mings ensured a Villa win.
Last Matches of both teams:
Crystal Palace 3-1 Watford
Aston Villa 3-1 Salernitana
Also read: Football news: 5 football clubs who have emerged as dark horses this season; check out
Where to watch the live streaming and broadcast of Watford vs Aston Villa in India?
The match can be live streamed on the Hotstar App while the Broadcast is available on the Star Sports Select Network.
Watford possible 11:
Bachmann, Femenia, Troost-Ekong, Cathcart, Rose, Etebo, Cleverly, Louza, Sarr, Hernandez and Dennis
Aston Villa possible 11:
Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett, McGinn, Nakamba, Buendia, Ramsey, Young and Ings
Prediction: Watford 2-1 Aston Villa
Both sides haven’t coming into the season with good form but we expect Watford to edge this one due to their good home-form.
They won 19 of their 23 home matches last season and hold the advantage coming into this one with a packed house rallying them along.
Players to watch out for: Young, Ings, Cleverly, Sarr.
