Charlton flirted with relegation for much of last season so their excellent start to the season will be most welcomed by their supporters and everybody associated with the club. Belgian, Bob Peeters, was brought in as the new manager over the summer and he’s had an immediate impact, overseeing an unbeaten run of five games. That has included home wins over Wigan and Derby, two sides who reached the play-offs last season and are very well fancied to challenge for automatic promotion this time around. They face another of the big clubs in the Championship on Saturday, hoping to add another big scalp as they welcome Watford to the Valley.
Since beating Huddersfield 4-2 last time out, Watford have parted company with Italian, Giuseppe Sannino parting company after less than a year in charge. He’s been replaced with Oscar Garica who was in charge of Brighton for the last season before a short spell in Israel. He takes over a side who have made a flying start to the season and scoring plenty of goals at the same time. Watford have won four of their first five games and sit one point behind leaders Nottingham Forest. They have are the current top scorers in the division at this early stage of the season which gives an indication of where their major strength lies.
Having struggled to score goals for a lot of last season (averaged less than one a game) the challenge for the new manager was trying to improve that. It looks like a change in style and the introduction of some new players has made a difference. The signing of Igor Vetokele from Danish football has been a revelation as the Angolan has notched five goals in as many games, including a double in their most recent game away to Brighton.
Watford would have been delighted with the news that Troy Deeney is still at the club despite numerous bids from Premier League clubs over the summer months. He’s been on fire in the opening few weeks, scoring three in his first five. Having scored 44 league goals over the last two seasons, it’s no surprise that he was wanted by others, the fact Watford have managed to hold on to him could make such a big difference in where they finish come May.
It’s another very attractive tie between two clubs who have shown their willingness to play on the front foot, both home and away. There have been a total of 35 goals scored in games involving them this season whilst there has been the same amount of goals scored over the last nine meetings between these sides. I think it’s fair to assume more of the same tomorrow so take the over 2.5 goals.
Over 2.5 goals 10/11 at William Hill
