Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
The final action of Today’s curtailed Premier League programme sees Watford take on West Ham at Vicarage Road.
13th plays host to 10th but such is the congested pack of clubs from Stoke in 9th and Watford in 13th that a win for Walter Mazzari’s side would see them leapfrog their opponents.
Watford last Premier League outing was a valiant defeat away to Manchester United. Goals from Juan Mata and Anthony Martial were the difference as United ran out 2-0 winners, Watford’s performance was solid enough but ultimately they failed to take the few chances that were presented to them and could not withstand wave after wave of pressure from Jose Mourinho’s men.
That defeat halted a run of successive wins as victory over both Arsenal and Burnley have somewhat eased the pressure slightly on Walter Mazzari, it was reported by many news sources that the Pozzo family that own Watford were considering Mazzari’s future should results go against them.
But 7 points from a possible 12 has at least bought Mazzari some time and you get the feeling that 3 more wins between now and the end of the season would be enough to secure The Hornets top flight status for a third consecutive season. Whether that is enough to keep Mazzari in a job for the start of next season remains to be seen.
Their opponents West Ham are realistically in the same position where 3 more wins will keep them up this season but obviously Slaven Bilic will not allow his side just to get to 41 points in the next few weeks and then all but take the next couple of months off.
It’s been quite the renaissance for West Ham since they were languishing in the bottom three at the end of last year. A 5-1 defeat to Arsenal was undoubtedly their nadir and some felt that it could be the end of Bilic’s time at the club and after getting a vote of confidence many felt that would be the sword of damocles to hang over his head.
But unlike most clubs the West Ham owners David Gold and David Sullivan have been true to their word and actually given Bilic his full backing, in doing so they have been rewarded with a Hammers resurgence which sees them now sit in the top of half of the table at the start of the weekend.
Last time out they were held to a frustrating home draw with West Brom. Jonny Evans injury time equaliser was the icing on a very sour cake for Bilic. Already angry at what he felt were refereeing decisions from Michael Oliver going against by the time Evans header had nestled into the net, it was a TV Boom mic which was to feel Bilic’s anger with the former Croatia boss being sent to the touchline for the remaining few seconds.
When these two sides met earlier in the season there were plenty of goals as Watford ran out 4-2 winners. It was arguably a game that kickstarted their campaign and since that win they’ve never really had to worry about looking over their shoulders.
West Ham have improved since then and are arguably a more balanced side since Dimiti Payet returned to Marseille in January, they are certainly a more galvanised one. With their not being a lot between these two sides at present I have a feeling we will see a share of the points. A draw for me.
