Watford is being tipped by many this season as a possible threat for relegation. The Hornets at least have a year of Premier League experience to build off of from last year, though this opening match of the season against Liverpool figures to be a little bit beyond its reach more often than not.
At 7:30 a.m. ET, tune into FOX Sports 1 for live television coverage of this EPL match on Saturday, August 12, 2017, at Vicarage Road.
Opening Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Watford +425
Liverpool -175
Draw +295
Over/Under 2.5
Odds Analysis
Liverpool is hoping to have a strong year this season, though the recent transfer of Philippe Coutinho isn't going to make matters any better. The Reds still did a lot of smart spending in the offseason, and that could pay dividends down the line.
For the time being, they're big -175 favorites at Vicarage Road against a Watford team that went 8-4-7 at home a term ago.
The total is set at a fairly flat 2.5, a number that seems low nowadays by Premier League standards.
Key Injuries
Jurgen Klopp is going to need to do a lot of juggling at the start of the season. Nathaniel Clyne won't be in the fold for this one to kick off the year, while Adam Lallana could still be months away from returning to the fold. There are others like Jordan Henderson and Danny Ings who are either recovering from injuries or fighting minor problems, and it's unknown if either of these men will be available for the kickoff match of the 2017-18 season.
Watford is far too thin of a team right now to be playing without any of its best players. Mauro Zararte is expected to be a big key to the season, but he has picked up a knee injury and might be on the shelf for quite a while.
Recent Form
Watford's preseason was one that was nondescript for sure. The team really didn't challenge itself against anyone at the highest level, and that could be telling. One thing is for sure, and that's that the Hornets will want to get their last memory from 2016-17 out of their heads in a hurry when they were beaten 5-0 by Manchester City right here at Vicarage Road.
Liverpool should feel pretty good about itself heading into the new season, even with Coutinho now playing at Barcelona. The team beat Athletic Bilbao, Bayern Munich and Hertha Berlin in the preseason, and it went 90 minutes with Atletico Madrid level at 1-1 before losing in penalties.
Free Soccer Betting Pick
Watford had a stout home team last year. There were matches in which the Hornets didn't look great against the top flight teams, but there were also plenty of moments here at home where they really did look capable of staying in the top flight for a while.
Unfortunately, this is one of those season-trending moments for Watford. If the Hornets are going to avoid the drop again, they're going to have to do so by constantly taking maximum points from the teams like Huddersfield, Brighton, Swansea and Burnley. These aren't the fixtures where anything good is going to happen.
Liverpool was known for really screwing around with the suspect teams last season, including giving up all three points to Swansea City at the end of last year when the Swans were fighting for relegation. The Reds held on and finished fourth to get into the Champions League for this year, but they need to be better than that. Klopp has made it a point to suggest that these are the most important matches Liverpool will face this year instead of the ones against the big boys, and we think that extra attention will make the difference on Match Day 1.
EPL Odds: Liverpool 4, Watford 1
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