West Ham - Watford preview: A win Friday at the London Stadium would almost certainly give West Ham or Watford safe passage to another season of Premier League action (Watch live at pm ET on NBCSN and online via NBCSports.com).
The Irons and Hornets are both three points clear of 18th-place Bournemouth and 19th-place Aston Villa, the latter two sides with just two matches to play.
In case you’re wondering, West Ham has a minus-15 goal differential, with Watford (-21), Bournemouth (-25) and Villa (-27) in line behind them.
STREAM WEST HAM - WATFORD LIVE
Team news
Nigel Pearson says Troy Deeney has been fighting an injury for some time but the striker unsurprisingly still makes his way onto the team sheet.
West Ham boss David Moyes says Robert Snodgrass is unlikely to return but Felipe Anderson has returned and is on the bench.
🚨 TEAM NEWS 🚨
— Watford Football Club (@WatfordFC) July 17, 2020
One enforced change from Saturday's win...
⬅️ Capoue (injured)
➡️ Cleverley#WHUWAT pic.twitter.com/G4ybs1zyiG
Our line-up tonight for #WHUWAT... pic.twitter.com/3N64cPyk1B
— West Ham United (@WestHam) July 17, 2020
What they’re saying
Moyes on facing down relegation: “I think we’re in a good place. We’re playing quite well and we’re comfortable with what we’re doing. We know the importance of the game. We’ve been here before, and if we take points similar to last time we were here, I’ll have no doubt we’ll be a Premier League club.”
Watford’s Danny Welbeck on the task at hand: “We can do the job ourselves and whatever happens outside our bubble is a bonus. The most important thing is to focus on ourselves and what we can do. It’s about how we prepare tactically, physically and mentally. We’ve got to be good to go and go for three points. It’s a big game, but we have to focus on ourselves. Hopefully we get the three points. We’ve got a lot of good players in the squad and for some reason it’s not really shown with the position we are in. It’s difficult to pinpoint why but...hopefully we can express ourselves in the remaining games and show what we can actually do.”
Odds and ends
DraftKings sees the host Irons as a slight favorite with +143 odds to win compared to Watford’s +235.
The Irons improved to 1-1-1 on the young season when Sebastien Haller shined in a 3-1 win over Watford at Vicarage Road in August when Manuel Pellegrini was West Ham boss and Javi Gracia led the Hornets.
Prediction
Both teams have players who can punish and defenses that can open the door. A draw would really hurt the dramatics of the relegation run-in, and we’ll be cynical enough to shout a 1-1 onto the board.
How to watch West Ham - Watford stream, start time
Kickoff: 3 pm ET Friday
TV Channel: NBCSN
Online: Stream via NBCSports.com