Watford will travel to Stoke-on-Trent to take on Paul Lambert’s Stoke City in the Premier League on Wednesday night. The Hornets have suffered two losses in a row at the hands of Leicester City in the league and Southampton in the fourth round of the FA Cup. Javi Garcia will now look to stop the rot and inspire his side to earn an unlikely victory at the Bet365 Stadium. Both teams come into this clash with a new manager at the helm. Stoke City boss Paul Lambert has already started to turn the Potters’ fortunes for the better in recent matches while Javi Garcia is yet to do so for his Hertfordshire team. This contest will be ‘a relegation six-pointer’ as both sides are still in danger of getting relegated this season and are in dire need of a win.
The recent history of the fixture does not make a good reading for the Hornets fans as they have lost their previous four meetings against the Potters. It is expected that Javi Garcia will opt for an attacking 4-3-3 formation and could deploy three attackers up top to lead the lines for the visitors. It remains to be seen whether the new Watford boss can conjure up a crucial away victory on Wednesday night.
4-3-3 Watford Predicted Lineup To Face Stoke City
Defence
Heurelho Gomes will once again return in goal for the Hornets and is expected to be protected by a back four of Adrian Mariappa and Christian Kabasele at the heart of the Hornets’ defence while José Holebas takes his place on the left and Daryl Janmaat starts in the right side of the backline.
The Watford defence has conceded 44 goals in 24 Premier League matches so they might be in for a difficult night away at Stoke City if they fail to keep things tight at the back early on.
Midfield
The trio of Abdoulaye Doucouré, Ben Watson and Étienne Capoue will be deployed as holding midfielders and will be responsible for shielding their backline and breaking down the opposition attacks.
All three players will be integral if the Hornets are to come out on top in this contest at the Bet365 Stadium.
Attack
The Watford front line might consist of Richarlison, Andre Gray and André Carrillo. Gray has already spearheaded the attack for the Hornets up top on quite a few occasions this season. He will look to use his pace and run down the channels to provide an outlet for his teammates while the Brazilian, Richarlison looks to do damage on the left flank.
