Swansea City v Watford

Published on: 22 September 2017

The 0-0 draw between the sides last season was Bob Bradley's first home game in charge and Swansea's 100th fixture in the Premier League.TEAM NEWS

Swansea forward Wilfried Bony could be handed his first Premier League start since rejoining the club.

Ki Sung-yeung is in training after knee surgery but will not be considered, while Nathan Dyer and Kyle Bartley remain out.

Watford full-back Kiko Femenia is back after concussion, but central defender Miguel Britos is still suspended.

Fellow defenders Sebastian Prodl and Younes Kaboul miss out with respective thigh and hamstring injuries.

MOTD COMMENTATOR'S NOTES

Mark Scott: "Paul Clement was rightly pleased with his players for keeping Spurs at bay last weekend, but he's understandably less satisfied with them offensively, after Swansea failed to manage a shot on target for the third time in five league games this season.

"He has a welcome selection dilemma up front for this one, with Wilfried Bony pushing for a start following his efforts in midweek.

"Marco Silva is hopeful something positive will come out of Watford's mauling against Manchester City, calling it "a good match for them to learn from", and that game aside they've made an impressive start, especially away from home.

"Silva also has a striker itching to make the team and has told captain Troy Deeney he needs to "work hard" in order to regain his place."

Twitter: @Mark_Scott_

WHAT THE MANAGERS SAY

Swansea head coach Paul Clement on Wilfried Bony: "He's definitely in consideration for a start this weekend. That's why he's back here, to make a big contribution for this club.

"He is keen to go and get on the pitch and show what he is able to do. He's a very good player."

Watford head coach Marco Silva: "We have achieved good results against teams fighting with us [to avoid relegation], but we will see what happens in the future.

"It is important to us that we play our game, with our ideas and philosophy and try to achieve good results.

"If it is against teams competing for the same goal with you, it is better if you achieve good results."

LAWRO'S PREDICTION

Swansea's home form has been not been great so far - they have lost both their league matches at the Liberty Stadium - but that is something they can put right this weekend.

Watford made an excellent start to the season but they are what I would call a 10-game team, because it is going to take that long to work out what they are about and how good they actually are.

Prediction: 2-1

Lawro's full predictions v Kingsman actor Mark Strong.

Think you can do better than Lawro? Predict the score for this match and the rest of this round's Premier League fixtures in our Predictor game.MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

Swansea have beaten Watford once in their last five league meetings (D2, L2).However, the Hornets have won only two of their 22 away league matches in Swansea (D6, L14), with their last victory coming in February 1983.The last four Premier League meetings between Swansea and Watford have produced just three goals.

Swansea City

Swansea could lose their opening three home league matches for the first time. The Swans have failed to register a shot on target in three of their five Premier League matches this season.They have only attempted 30 shots in the top flight this season, four fewer than Tottenham's Harry Kane.

Watford

Watford are attempting to win their first three away matches without conceding, which would equal a Premier League record.The last time the Hornets kept three consecutive away clean sheets was in March 1986.They are also looking to win three consecutive top-flight away games for the first time.Andre Gray has scored once and registered two shots on target in his last 16 Premier League appearances.Daryl Janmaat is one game shy of 100 Premier League appearances.

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SAM's verdictMost probable score: 1-1Probability of draw: 28%Probability of home win: 43%Probability of away win: 29%

SAM (Sports Analytics Machine) is a super-computer created by @ProfIanMcHale at the University of Liverpool that is used to predict the outcome of football matches.

Source: bbc.com

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