Premier League new boys Watford host Crystal Palace at Vicarage Road on Sunday aiming to maintain their excellent start to the season by recording a third successive victory.
The Eagles, meanwhile, have seen their early-season bubble popped by Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur in recent weeks, and Alan Pardew will be hoping to get them back on track in the London derby.
Watford
© Getty Images
By virtue of the fact that Manchester City are the only team to have beaten Watford in the Premier League this season, it can be presumed that Quique Flores's men have enjoyed their return to the big time. Tenth in the table, with nine points from a possible 18, their fans will have certainly enjoyed it too.
The Hornets kicked things off by holding Everton to a 2-2 draw at Goodison Park, before successive 0-0 draws with West Bromwich Albion and Southampton stifled their attempts to register a first top-flight victory since 2007.
Visiting the Sky Blues before the international break was not expected to yield much excitement - and that proved the case when the hosts eased to a 2-0 win - but it would be fair to say that Watford emerged from the two-week hiatus with a gusto that alluded them beforehand.
Despite being one of the pre-season favourites for relegation, Flores and co showed immense fight in the 1-0 win over Swansea City a fortnight ago. Odion Ighalo was the hero, but the way in which they fought after Valon Behrami saw red on 64 minutes will have undoubtedly warmed Flores's heart. It was an early sign that his side were up for it this term.
Ighalo stole the headlines once more last week when his first-half brace was enough to down Newcastle United at St James' Park. Of course, victory could seem less impressive based on the Magpies' struggles, but Watford will not care. It was another three points toward the 40-point barrier and few will back against them again come Sunday.
Recent form: DDDLWW
Recent form (all competitions): DDLLWW
Crystal Palace
© Getty Images
Crystal Palace manager Pardew has previously stated that he refuses to settle for a mid-table finish, insisting that his troops have more than enough quality to finish in the top 10.
Sunday's trip to Vicarage Road is certainly an acid test of sorts to determine if the Eagles can pick themselves up following back-to-back defeats and resume the quest to finish in the top half. It will not be easy.
Prior to the international break, Pardew and Palace were in dreamland. They had just beaten Premier League champions Chelsea 2-1 at Stamford Bridge to move second in the table, with nine points from a possible 12 - a home defeat to Arsenal being the only blemish.
However, they have not emerged from the two-week interval looking quite as fresh. The Londoners looked on course to hold high-flying Manchester City to a hard-earned point at Selhurst Park two weeks ago, before a last-minute winner from Kelechi Iheanacho denied them.
Such a deflating manner of defeat was always going to have a morale-sapping effect on the squad's collective belief, and another setback followed by losing 1-0 at Spurs last time out. The road for a top-10 finish begins at Vicarage Road.
Recent form: WLWWLL
Recent form (all competitions): WWWLLW
Team News
© Getty Images
Behrami serves the second of his three-match ban following his red card in the win over Swansea, while defender Joel Ekstrand remains sidelined until December after suffering cruciate ligament damage in March. Ben Watson, who replaced Behrami last week, could do so again.
The duo are the only high-profile absentees for Flores as the Spanish coach eyes a third successive league win, with Ighalo expected to spearhead the attack once more having hit three goals in his last two outings.
Meanwhile, Pardew will give last-minute fitness tests to injured trio Scott Dann, Damien Delaney and Mile Jedinak. Delaney was the only one who made the trip to Spurs.
However, the ex-Newcastle boss confirmed that Connor Wickham is definitely out with injury, as is long-term absentee Marouane Chamakh.
Dwight Gayle has given Pardew food for thought after hitting a hat-trick in midweek, but it remains to be seen if he will lead the line.
Watford possible starting lineup:
Gomes; Nyom, Prodl, Cathcart, Anya; Capoue, Watson; Abdi, Ighalo, Jurado; Deeney
Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
McCarthy; Kelly, Hangeland, Mariappa, Souare; McArthur, Cabaye; Zaha, Puncheon, Sako; Bolasie
Head To Head
Over six years have elapsed since Watford last secured a home win over their London rivals - a 1-0 victory in the Championship in February, 2009. Since then, Palace have lost just one of the subsequent eight meetings, winning six of them.
We say: Watford 1-1 Crystal Palace
By virtue of the fact that Watford's first three Premier League games were stalemates, it could be argued that Flores's men are something of draw specialists so far. With Palace also reeling from their back-to-back defeats, morale will be low among the Eagles - despite their Capital One Cup exploits - but we reckon that they will have enough quality to leave Vicarage Road with a point.
Shane Callaghan
