Watford could not return the favour but all is not lost in Premier League survival
Watford could not return the same favour to Brighton but all is not lost in their quest for a Premier League stay. Many positives to take from this for Nigel Pearson, whereas Graham Potter needs some serious changes to be made.
On Saturday the pair met for a Premier League meeting in the first weekend of the winter break. Is it safe to say Brighton was lucky to get a point from the fixture? Yes, it is! It took Potter’s men 60 minutes to find an equaliser through a Watford own goal.
Following the result, the Seagulls have taken four points from this fixture after winning the reverse meeting at Vicarage Road. However, the three points for either side was more important than a point shared in this one. Nigel Pearson has one key issue to worry about, and that his side’s lacking the strength to hold onto a lead.
All three of their last fixtures they have scored first in, they have gone on to lose or draw because of leaking in late goals. Potter on the hand, goes his sixth game without collecting three points. This is a huge solicitude for the Seagulls as they’ve now only won two games in their last 15 Premier League games.
The drop is calling both these clubs if they do not find a late wind of good performances come their way.
Watford positives to take from the clash
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Abdoulaye Doucoure, now dubbed Abdoulaye Doucoure 2.0 because of this new life he has found under the new direction of Nigel Pearson. The positional change in the team being employed in a more advanced role has not gone unnoticed and appears to be working well for them.
He has been involved in four goals in the last six showings, scoring three times and assisting once. Adding to his importance for the Hornets, he has featured in all of their 25 EPL games this term. Staying fit is vital, as it’s clear to notice the struggle is real without Senegalese young star, Ismaïla Sarr.
Negatives for Brighton
The home side is yet to score in 90 minutes of football. The leveller came through an own goal by mad man, Adrian Mariappa. Mad because it was an own goal he could have dealt with a lot better in order to prevent the goal and save two points.
Adding negatively to this is how they’ve conceded 10 goals in six outings, with a clean sheet not coming since their 2-0 victory over Bournemouth last year December. To own 68% of a game’s possession, out pass your opponents with 603 passes to their 301, have more shots at goal, and still not win calls for concern.
Premier League relegation battle
After the first of Matchday 26 has concluded, the lot of Brighton, Crystal Palace, and Watford stays stuck in the middle of affairs and must wait on the rest of the league to play before they know hard they have to work the following week coming.
As we are well aware Arsenal are as close to getting relegated as what they are to save their league run. This season will go down to the final whistle of the final game. There are only seven points separating 10th Placed Arsenal from 17th Place West Ham. There are 10 teams involved in the relegation battle with all still able to save their season. This is what a Premier League royal rumble looks like.
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The only team looking likely to drop out of England’s Top Flight is Norwich. It doesn’t get any easier with them having a visit from the current leaders Liverpool. The Hornets have a strong chance of pulling themselves out of danger, but it will take solving the problem plaguing their entire league.