Former Arsenal star and current Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has admitted he does not know which Watford side are going to turn up as he predicts a win for the Hornets over Newcastle on Saturday.
The Magpies visit Vicarage Road off the back of a 4-0 thrashing away to Liverpool on Boxing Day while the hosts were narrowly beaten by Chelsea in a 2-1 defeat in front of their own fans.
Predicting that the three points will be remaining with Jave Gracia’s men, Merson admitted that the Hornets were unpredictable, but hammered Newcastle for their lack of cutting edge up top.
Predicting a 2-0 win for Watford, he said on Sky Sports’ Football Centre (28/12, 11:35): “I watched Newcastle against Fulham and I don’t remember them getting a shot.
“Watford are like a bag of Revels, you don’t know what you’re going to get.”
Opinion
Both Watford and Newcastle have proven to be a bit all over the shop this season and it will simply come down to who can prove to be the better team on Saturday as to who gets the points. One their day, Watford are up there with most Premier League sides while the Magpies have been able to pull off some positive results with plucky performances. That was certainly not the case on Boxing Day though and you have to question how much the mauling at the hands of league leaders Liverpool will have dented the confidence of Rafael Benitez’s men. Merson seems confident their struggles up top are set to continue on their second successive away trip and judging by what the Toon Army witnessed at Anfield, there are few who could argue against that. Of course, anything can happen and with Salomon Rondon having been rested against the Reds, his return could pose a threat to Watford.