BBC football pundit Mark Lawrenson has shared his prediction ahead of Tottenham Hotspur’s match against Watford tomorrow afternoon.
Historically, on paper this would be a match which the vast majority of Spurs fans would expect to win. However, the form guide has been turned on its head this season, especially following Watford’s appointment of Nigel Pearson.
Watford have won 13 points under manager Nigel Pearson (W4 D1 L1) – only runaway leaders Liverpool (15) and Manchester City (15) have won more points since his first game in charge.
The Hornets have won as many points in their last five Premier League games as they had in their previous 23 in the competition (13).
Tottenham have lost their last two Premier League games – they haven’t lost three consecutive league games since November 2012.
Lawrenson has tipped Spurs to come away from Vicarage Road with just a point which would be catastrophic for their hopes of another top four finish.
He told BBC Sport: “Watford are still going well under Nigel Pearson, while Tottenham just look a bit all over the place.
MORE SPURS STORIES
“Jose Mourinho’s side were better in the second half against Liverpool last week, caused quite a few problems and might have nicked a point.
“But this is a tough game for Spurs. Watford boss Nigel Pearson is trying to ensure his side do not ease up after climbing out of the drop zone, because there are teams down there who are floundering.
“The ball is rolling for the Hornets a bit now, which obviously helps, and Pearson just wants to keep this run going, but they will no doubt have a day soon where they mess up, don’t play well, and end up beaten.
“I don’t think that will happen on Saturday, though, because Spurs are below their best.
“It is going to be interesting to see how Mourinho approaches things without Harry Kane. In that scenario last season, they used Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura, but they were very much operating on the counter-attack.
“One of the problems Spurs have got while Kane is injured is, if they cannot counter-attack, they struggle to break teams down – purely and simply because there is no-one to hold the ball up for them.
“Lawro’s prediction: 1-1.”
Keep up to date with all the latest Tottenham news and opinion by following SpursWeb’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
