Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
The season may have started last night at The Emirates but lets all be honest this what is truly considered the start as Vicarage Road plays host to what is the opening encounter of the 2017/18 campaign. They play host to Liverpool this lunchtime as both teams will look to get off the board.
For Watford it was once again a change of manager in the summer as they embark on their third successive tilt at top flight football. One of the warmest managerial hot seats in the division is now filled by Marco Silva after his departure from Hull back in May.
The former Olympiakos manager has been flexing his chequebook in the last few days with the signing of two forwards which has cost in the region of £30m. In addition to young Brazilian Richarlison he has also managed to acquire Andre Gray from Burnley for a club record fee of £18.5m.
With any record signing there is a weight of expectation that comes with it and the former Burnley man will be charged with chipping in with goals that not only can keep his new club away from any potential relegation battle but also lighten the load for club captain Troy Deeney.
The Birmingham born forward almost had too much to do last season and it showed in his performances especially in the second half of the campaign but now with additional attacking reinforcements it should ease his burden and allow him to flourish once again.
They play host to a Liverpool side who probably by their own standards have not had a particularly good transfer window. They may have added Mohamed Salah and former Chelsea youngster Dominic Solanke but they also have failed to land any of their main two transfer targets.
The wheels in motion for a move for Virgil van Dijk could once again start rolling after the Dutch international handed in a transfer request earlier in the week but in an ideal world Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp would have liked to already have him at the club and playing this lunchtime.
That is in addition to Naby Keita who looks like he will be staying at RB Leipzing for at least another 12 months and of course we cannot forget the biggest headline of the week, that of course being trying to ward Barcelona off of Philippe Coutinho.
The Catalan giants rarely take no for answer and now it seems to be a case of when they will return with another bid after seeing their last effort of €100m turned down by the Anfield outfit. The fact that the Brazilian international has a back problem currently means that we are unlikely to be talking about his on pitch efforts later today.
Liverpool are also missing Adam Lallana after he picked up an injury at the start of the month which will see him out until November while Daniel Sturridge is unsurprisingly injured once again although Jordan Henderson should be fit after suffering from a virus.
Marco Silva will want to get off to the perfect start and it will be interesting to see what identity he can stamp on Watford this early on but I think even with all the transfer drama circling around Liverpool at present I still think that they will have enough to come out on top. An away win for me.
This is what social media reckons will be the outcome
Time for some weekend Premier League "Scientific Polls"
What will the outcome be between #Watford and #Liverpool tomorrow?
— Dan Tracey (@dantracey1983) August 11, 2017
