Watford entertain Saints

Watford vs Southampton

Venue: Vicarage Road

Kick off: 4pm

Two sides still looking to secure their first wins in the 2015-16 Premier League season meet at Vicarage Road on Sunday when Southampton travel to Watford.

The top-flight newcomers have drawn their first two matches of the campaign, while the Saints have just one point from a possible six at this stage.

Watford have made a solid if unspectacular start to the season, following up a 2-2 draw with Everton on the opening day of the season with a goalless stalemate against West Bromwich Albion last time out.

While the Hornets were unlucky not to secure the win in their first outing, conceding late on at Goodison Park, Quique Flores has praised his side’s performance against the Baggies, despite the team creating few chances in the match.

The London side have been adding to their squad this week as they continue to strengthen the team following promotion from the Championship, bringing in former West Ham United player, Alessandro Diamanti from Chinese side, Guangzhou Evergrande, while Nathan Ake joins from Chelsea.

Last season’s top scorer, striker Troy Deeney, is yet to get off the mark in this campaign. Deeney added 21 goals, including a hat-trick, to help the club secure a second-place finish and promotion from the second tier last season, and Flores has backed him to rediscover his form this season.

The fixture marks the start of a busy seven-day period for Watford, as they face a trip to Preston North End in the League Cup just days after this fixture, before going to Manchester City in the Premier League next Saturday.

While Flores is still a relative newcomer to English football, the Watford boss should be familiar with Ronald Koeman, as the Dutchman replaced the Spaniard after he was fired by Valencia in 2007.

Ronald Koeman’s side are yet to hit their stride in this campaign, following up a 2-2 draw with Newcastle United on the opening day of the season with a heavy 3-0 loss to Everton at St Mary’s last time out, leaving the team 17th in the table.

Like Everton last season, the team’s early-season struggles could be down to a busy schedule, as they have been in action in the qualifying rounds of the Europa League, having finished seventh in the table last season to qualify for the competition.

Their involvement in Europe is the reason this match was pushed back to Sunday, as Southampton were in action on Thursday night, sharing a 1-1 draw in their playoff first leg against Danish champions FC Midtjylland.

Despite having just one point from their first two matches, Southampton will not be too concerned that they are yet to win a match, having made an identical start last season. They went on to win their third match of the season, launching a four-game winning run.

However, the team’s 6-1 win over Aston Villa in their penultimate outing last season remains their only victory in eight outings in the league, five losses coming in that string.

The transfer market continues to be a distraction for Koeman in the run-up to this match, as he has faced numerous questions on the future of Sadio Mane after the winger was linked with a move the Manchester United. However, the manager, who remains on crutches after rupturing his Achilles, has insisted that the Senegal international wants to stay at St Mary’s.

Watford possible starting lineup: Gomes, Nyom, Prodl, Cathcart, Anya, Capoue, Behrami, Layun, Ighalo, Diamante, Deeney.

Southampton possible starting lineup: Stekelenburg, Soares, Fonte, Yoshida, Targett, Davis, Wanyama, Romeu, Mane, Ward-Prowse, Pelle.