Sports Mole previews Friday’s Championship clash between Plymouth Argyle and Watford, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Plymouth Argyle and Watford return to action on Friday night with both clubs looking to pick up where they left before the international break.
Although these two clubs occupy spots at the opposite ends of the Championship table, the Pilgrims and Hornets were in encouraging form earlier this month.
Match preview
With the announcement that Plymouth and Wayne Rooney are to be the subject of a documentary, supporters may be divided over whether that will bring its own distractions.
Nevertheless, they can currently be content with how their side are performing in the second tier, earning 16 points from their opening 15 matches.
Most notably, Rooney’s side are on a two-match unbeaten streak, following a 1-0 victory over relegation rivals Portsmouth with a spirited 1-1 draw at Derby County.
That represented the first time in the Championship this season that they have avoided defeat in consecutive matches, while the point at Pride Park was just their second in eight away fixtures.
Plymouth have been heavily reliant on their form at Home Park, putting together a run of four wins and one draw from their last five outings on the South coast.
In sharp contrast, Watford have lost six of their eight matches on their travels, albeit one of their two successes coming in an incredible game versus Sheffield Wednesday.
The Hornets prevailed 6-2 at Hillsborough on November 2, and although that was followed by a narrow loss at Swansea City, Tom Cleverley‘s side responded in their final fixture before the international break.
A Vakoun Bayo goal secured a 1-0 success over Oxford United, ensuring that Watford entered the final enforced break until March sitting in sixth place in the standings.
Sitting just six points adrift of the leaders with what is an abysmal away record, Cleverley will recognise that it may only take a gradual improvement on their travels to put together a charge for automatic promotion.
Plymouth Argyle Championship form:
Watford Championship form:
Team News
© Imago
Barring any further injury issues, Rooney may be prepared to stick with the side that battled their way to a share of the spoils versus Derby.
Although Frederick Issaka and Ryan Hardie are both alternatives in attack, they could remain among the replacements.
Conor Hazard, Brendan Galloway, Lewis Gibson, Joe Edwards, Ibrahim Cissoko and Muhamed Tijani are all expected to miss out through injury.
Cleverley will be forced into at least one change to his Watford XI with Festy Ebosele serving a one-match ban for five yellow cards.
Yasser Larouci should deputise as a straight replacement, while the Hornets will also benefit from the returns of Francisco Sierralta and Moussa Sissoko from their own one-match suspensions.
Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:
Grimshaw; Sorinola, Szucs, Pleguezuelo, Mumba; Randell, Gyabi; Whittaker, Wright, Bundu; Obafemi
Watford possible starting lineup:
Bachmann; Porteous, Pollock, Sierralta; Andrews, Kayembe, Louza, Larouci; Baah, Chakvetadze; Bayo
We say: Plymouth Argyle 2-2 Watford
Given their contrasting home and away records, many will back Plymouth to come through this contest. However, we are backing an entertaining share of the spoils, a result that would not necessarily suit either side.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
