Watford vs Leicester City: Preview, prediction, team news as Okoli’s Foxes hunt Hornets

Watford welcome struggling Leicester City to Vicarage Road on Saturday afternoon in what looks a pivotal Championship fixture at both ends of the table, Afrik-Foot reports.

Ed Still’s side have renewed their late push for the top six after Tuesday’s emphatic 3-1 win over Wrexham, a result that leaves the Hornets five points off the playoff places with eight matches to play.

Leicester, meanwhile, arrive in Hertfordshire with morale at rock bottom after a devastating 3-1 home loss to QPR last weekend left the former Premier League champions 23rd in the standings and staring at the very real prospect of League One football.

For interim boss Gary Rowett, the task is enormous: just one win from six games since his appointment, a creaking defence, and a squad whose confidence looks shot to pieces.

Watford vs Leicester City Match Preview

It has been a season of two halves for Watford, who spent much of the autumn stuck in mid-table anonymity before finding their feet under Still.

The Belgian coach was a relatively unknown appointment when he took the reins, but he has quietly guided the Hornets to ninth in the table on 55 points.

Only league leaders Coventry City, Ipswich Town and Millwall have secured more home wins than Watford in the Championship this season, and Vicarage Road has been something of a fortress when the hosts have been at their best.

Tuesday’s victory over Wrexham showed a different side to Still’s team, too, with goals from Marc Bola, Edo Kayembe and Edoardo Bove suggesting they can hurt opponents from multiple positions.

Their recent form reads three wins from their last six Championship outings, which is solid if not spectacular.

The problem for Watford is consistency, and they have not won back-to-back league matches since the end of December.

Doing so on Saturday would be a real statement.

Leicester’s situation could hardly be more different.

A club that lifted the Premier League trophy just 10 seasons ago is now scrapping to stay in the second tier, sitting two points from safety and running out of games.

The QPR defeat encapsulated everything wrong with this Foxes campaign: Jordan James gave them the lead with a sublime 25-yard strike, only for the defence to collapse in the space of 15 minutes either side of half time.

Rowett has managed one win, three draws and two defeats since replacing the sacked Marti Cifuentes in February, and there is a growing sense that the players simply are not good enough to keep Leicester in this division.

A six-point deduction for breaching Profit and Sustainability Rules earlier in the season has compounded an already desperate picture.

On the road, the Foxes sit 18th in the away form table and have not won an away league game since September’s 3-1 victory at Derby County.

Three consecutive away draws at Stoke, Middlesbrough and Ipswich looked like progress under Rowett, but the QPR setback has shattered any momentum that run might have built.

Watford vs Leicester Head-to-Head Record

These two clubs have met 38 times in league competition in recent decades, and Leicester hold a dominant overall record with 21 victories to Watford’s 11, alongside six draws.

The Foxes have been historically strong in this fixture, particularly at home, winning eight consecutive matches against the Hornets at the King Power Stadium before this season’s reverse fixture on Boxing Day.

However, Watford won that December 26 meeting 2-1 to end Leicester’s long run of dominance in the head to head.

James opened the scoring early for the home side, but Othmane Maamma equalised just before the break and Mattie Pollock headed home the winner from an Imran Louza cross in the 65th minute.

It was a result that typified Leicester’s season: taking the lead and then capitulating.

At Vicarage Road, the fixture tends to produce goals, with over 2.5 goals landing in 11 of the last 13 home meetings between the sides in all competitions.

That is a trend worth noting ahead of Saturday.

Team News: Watford vs Leicester City

Watford will be without Othmane Maamma, who has missed the last five Championship fixtures with a quadriceps injury sustained against Derby County in February.

Hector Kyprianou remains sidelined with a hand injury, while Jeremy Ngakia, Jeremy Petris, Rocco Vata and Pierre Dwomoh are also unavailable.

On the positive side, Mamadou Doumbia is expected to be back in contention after serving a suspension, and Edoardo Bove could push for a start after his stoppage-time goal against Wrexham.

Mattie Pollock was excellent at the back in that Wrexham win and should retain his place alongside Saba Goglichidze in the centre of defence.

Leicester have been hit hard by injuries all season, though there is some positive news for Rowett heading into this one.

Aaron Ramsey and Harry Souttar have returned to training after lengthy absences, though Ramsey is reportedly battling an illness that may keep him out of the matchday squad.

Asmir Begovic remains sidelined with the ankle injury he picked up in a warm-up earlier this month and is targeting a return next month.

Jannik Vestergaard has not featured since January following groin surgery and is not expected back until after the international break.

Victor Kristiansen is a long-term absentee with a knee injury.

Hamza Choudhury returned to the squad for the QPR match and started in an unfamiliar right-back role, with Rowett shuffling his options to cover for absent personnel.

Watford predicted XI (4-4-2): Selvik; Abankwah, Pollock, Goglichidze, Bola; Irankunda, Louza, Ekwah, Chakvetadze; Kayembe, Kjerrumgaard

Leicester City predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Stolarczyk; Pereira, Okoli, Nelson, Thomas; Skipp, James; Fatawu, Mukasa, Mavididi; Daka

Star Player Comparison: Louza vs James

This is a battle between two midfielders who have been the creative heartbeat of their respective sides.

Louza, the Morocco international and Watford captain, leads the Championship for combined creative output from central midfield with his six goals and eight assists from 34 league appearances.

His average FotMob rating of 7.54 makes him one of the highest-rated players in the division, and his two assists in the reverse fixture on Boxing Day proved decisive in overturning Leicester’s early lead.

James, the Wales international on loan from Rennes, has arguably been Leicester’s one shining light in an otherwise bleak campaign.

The 21-year-old has nine Championship goals to his name this term, more than anyone else in the Leicester squad, and he has a knack for the spectacular with several of those coming from distance.

His effort against QPR last weekend was a fine example: a 25-yard curler into the bottom corner that gave his side a lead they should never have relinquished.

The Managers: Still vs Rowett

Ed Still’s appointment as Watford head coach raised a few eyebrows given his limited profile in English football.

The Belgian, who previously worked as assistant to his brother Paul at Charlton Athletic, has steadily won over the Vicarage Road faithful with his pragmatic approach and willingness to blood young players.

He is still a relative novice in a top-level managerial role, but results like Tuesday’s Wrexham win suggest he is growing into the job at exactly the right time.

Rowett arrived at Leicester as an experienced firefighter, a manager who had previously kept clubs like Millwall and Birmingham competitive in the Championship.

However, the scale of the problems at the King Power has tested even his organisational skills.

Six games in, with just one win and a squad ravaged by injuries, contract uncertainty and a points deduction, the interim tag on his job title feels increasingly permanent.

A raft of players including Begovic, Ricardo Pereira, Jamaal Lascelles, Jordan Ayew, Patson Daka and Harry Winks are all out of contract in the summer, and motivation levels across the squad remain a serious concern.

Tactical Preview: Watford vs Leicester City

Still’s Watford have largely operated in a 4-4-2 system, with Louza sitting as the deeper of the two central midfielders and Giorgi Chakvetadze providing creativity from the left flank.

The width provided by Nestory Irankunda on the right has been a real weapon, and the Australian teenager was involved in both of the opening two goals against Wrexham, driving at defenders and creating overloads on the break.

Up front, Luca Kjerrumgaard has been in strong form throughout March and occupies defenders centrally, while Kayembe drifts from a deeper role to arrive late in the box.

Leicester’s 4-2-3-1, meanwhile, relies heavily on the pace of Abdul Fatawu and Stephy Mavididi on the flanks, with James pushing forward from midfield alongside the more disciplined Oliver Skipp in the double pivot.

The problem for Rowett is at the back, where defensive errors have become endemic this season.

Caleb Okoli and Ben Nelson have been an inconsistent central defensive pairing, and QPR ruthlessly exploited their vulnerability to set-piece deliveries last weekend.

Watford’s ability to create chances from crosses and set pieces, where Louza’s delivery is a genuine threat, could cause Leicester serious problems.

Equally, the Foxes will try to hit Watford on the counter-attack through Fatawu’s pace, looking to exploit any spaces left by Still’s attacking full-backs.

On balance, though, Watford’s structure and energy should tell.

Watford vs Leicester City Betting Tips

The standout value bet in this fixture is both teams to score, which has been a near-certainty in Leicester’s recent matches given their open defensive structure.

The Foxes have conceded in 12 of their last 13 Championship games, but they also have James capable of popping up with a goal from nothing.

Watford’s home record and Leicester’s woeful form on the road make a home win the most likely outcome, but backing it alongside goals at both ends offers the best combination of probability and value.

Watford vs Leicester City Score Prediction

Everything points towards a Watford win.

Still’s side have the momentum, the home advantage and the better recent head-to-head record to call on.

Leicester will likely score, because they always seem to grab a goal through James before the wheels come off, but their defensive record away from home gives little hope of them leaving with anything from this trip.

A 2-1 Watford victory feels the most probable scoreline, continuing the Hornets’ push for a top-six finish and leaving Leicester with ever more questions about their Championship survival.