Will Mo Salah spoil Ranieri’s debut?

In Germany, the question of the first coaching sacking in the Bundesliga remains unresolved. On the island, on the other hand, the first coach has been caught out during the international break. Watford’s promotion coach Xisco, of all people, had to pack his bags and was replaced by none other than Claudio Ranieri. The experienced Italian will make his debut on the Hornets’ bench on Saturday lunchtime.

For his first match, however, the veteran, who will turn 70 in a few days, would certainly have wished for a less complicated opponent. In the first match of the 8th matchday in the Premier League Watford receives Liverpool. According to the odds offered, the bookmakers leave no doubt as to which of the two clubs will go into the encounter favoured. At the top, just 1.36 is offered for an LFC win. The probability of occurrence is a whopping 74%

Although almost every prediction in the Watford vs Liverpool clash goes in the direction of the Reds, fans of the home side will remember the last meeting in the English top flight very fondly.

In February 2020, the underdogs won 3-0 at Anfield Road, ending two impressive streaks for Klopp’s side. On the one hand, it was the first Premier League home defeat after 44 unbeaten games in a row. On the other hand, the Reds conceded another defeat after 18 consecutive PL home victories. Is history repeating itself this weekend?

Watford – statistics & current form

With the sacking of promotion-winning coach Xisco, Watford FC officials caused a real bang about a fortnight ago. With seven points from their first seven games, the Hornets had actually made a pretty decent start to the new season, yet the club bosses cited a perceived negative trend as the main reason for sacking the Spaniard. Presumably, it was the only win from the most recent six Premier League games that was Xisco’s undoing.

Possibly, the leading heads would have taken a little more time with the decision, however, there was the possibility of signing Claudio Ranieri with immediate effect. The 69-year-old Italian, who sensationally led Leicester City to the English championship in 2016 and is now taking over his fourth club on the island, is expected to stabilise the promoted side and keep them in the top flight at all costs in the second step.

Ranieri’s focus, as always, is on defence for the time being

Ranieri’s focus should be on the defence, as the Yellow-Red have conceded at least one goal in their last 17 league games. The last clean sheet in Europe’s strongest football league came in February 2020 in the aforementioned 3-0 win at Liverpool. It is interesting to note, however, that keeper Foster has never had to make more than two saves in the seven match days to date.

This may be the first indication that the odds are paying off in the match between Watford and Liverpool, with the favourites having to exercise patience and only being able to steer the match in their own direction as the game progresses. The fact that the 15th-placed team has conceded only one goal in the first 45 minutes in three attempts at home (one win, one draw, one defeat) is another argument in favour of this.

In our eyes, it would be surprising if the Reds were to make short work of the first half. Ranieri will set his team up well defensively and do everything he can to avoid falling behind early on. A low-scoring first half would be the logical consequence. Sierralta, Kabasele, Etebo and Nkoulou will be absent due to injury

Predicted Watford line-up:
Foster; Ngakia, Troost-Ekong, Cathcart, Rose; Sissoko, Kucka; Sarr, Tufan, Sema; Dennis

Last matches played by Watford:

Liverpool – Statistics & current form
Liverpool Football Club remains one of the hottest teams in the Premier League. Although the 2020 champions have to settle for second place behind Chelsea after two recent draws against Brentford and Manchester City, those in charge around manager Jürgen Klopp can still be quite satisfied with the way the season has gone so far.

By the way, the Reds are the only club in the Premier League without a defeat so far. None of the last 17 matches has been lost (twelve wins, five draws). The top team from Merseyside has therefore long since put the temporary drought in February/March of this year behind them.

What is the state of fitness of the LFC internationals?

Of course, the centrepiece of Klopp’s team in 2021/22 will once again be the attack. In no less than four of seven league games this season, three goals have been scored. No other team has scored more goals in the first seven matchdays than the runners-up. In addition, the star ensemble from Anfield will set a new record this weekend. LFC could become the first Premier League team to score three or more goals in seven consecutive away games. No wonder, then, that the betting on a low-scoring encounter between Watford and Liverpool has been given high odds.

Despite all the justified euphoria, it should not be forgotten that virtually all the Reds players have been on international trips in recent days and some have returned at extremely short notice. The early kick-off time of 1pm on Saturday is therefore unlikely to have pleased the coaching team, although it will of course extend the regeneration period ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League match with Atletico Madrid.

Nevertheless, all the national players will not be at 100%, so that deviations from the predicted line-up are quite possible. Jones, Elliott and Thiago are definitely missing. Alexander-Arnold and Jota remain question marks. Mo Salah, on the other hand, is looking forward to the upcoming match, having scored a total of eight goals in his six games against Watford so far.

Predicted Liverpool line-up:
Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Gomez, Robertson; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Henderson, Keita; Salah, Firmino, Mane

Last matches played by Liverpool:

Watford – Liverpool Direct comparison / H2H balance

The teams have faced each other relatively rarely in the English top flight. Of the 26 meetings, LFC have won 19 (two draws, five defeats). Prior to the Hornets’ 3-0 win in February 2020, which was mentioned several times, the Reds had gone unbeaten against the promoted side eight times in a row. During this period, there were seven victories as well as one draw. Also interesting: In six of the seven Premier League duels, at least one team scored at least three goals. Will this trend continue at the weekend?

Watford – Liverpool Tip

Claudio Ranieri makes his comeback to the Premier League on Saturday lunchtime. Some five years after his greatest coaching success, the English Championship with Leicester City, the Italian is looking to get Watford FC back on track. In their first match, the promoted team will face Liverpool. After all, Ranieri has won four of his five home games against LFC.

Admittedly, this does not change the fact that the betting odds between Watford and Liverpool are rightly in favour of the visitors. The Reds are still unbeaten in 2021/22 and have not lost in 17 league games this season. On top of that, they currently have the best attack, but one or two of their stars may not be at 100% after logging many miles for their country.

Apart from that, it should give food for thought that the Hornets lost only one of their first three home games, conceding only one goal in the first 45 minutes and also winning the last direct encounter with the top club from Merseyside. The positive coaching effect does the rest.

We therefore prefer to bet on a maximum of one goal in the first half between Watford and Liverpool. We don’t doubt that LFC will win, but we can imagine that the favourites will need a little more time after the international break and against a well-coached team to put their own horsepower on the pitch. A narrow half-time lead would therefore be the maximum of emotions. Via the Bet3000 app, we get a 1.60 at the top, which is worth a stake of seven units to us.