The offseason for the NFL is rapidly approaching, so time to expand the portfolio. I have followed EPL for quite sometime, but never officially handicapped it. This will certainly be a learning curve and by no means would I ever say I am an expert in this realm. There will be trial and error figuring out what process will work for me with this sport correlated to my NFL process. I am always welcoming any feedback as I begin this new journey and hoping to have the same level of success we had during our 2021 NFL season. Now…..LFG!
Burnley ML (+120)
Even a casual fan would know that Burnley vs Watford isn’t exactly the cream of the crop in the EPL, both are in dead last of the 20 team table. Currently Burnley carries a 1-9-8 record: 12 pts and Watford is 4-2-14: 14 pts (the middle number is the draw in EPL record keeping: WDL). That was the first thing that stood out to me: Burnley with their abysmal record is tied for 3rd overall in the draw department. They are in last place yes, but they are staying in a lot of these games; some being top tier competition.
Recent transaction news has Burnley very excited bringing in 6’6” Dutch striker Wout Weghorst. Replacing Chris Wood, Weghorst is looking to not skip a beat with this giant frame and continue to be the goal scorer he was in the Bundesliga. Not the same type of news coming from the Watford club. On 1/24 Watford decided to part ways with head coach Claudio Ranieri, this coming after a 3-0 defeat from 17th place Norwich. Watford has been sliding, since their upset of Manchester United 11/20, they are 0-1-8. With half the season remaining the club hopes this move will get them out of the conversation of relegation. My guess is it will take a little more than that.
Burnley is used to sitting back on their heals and “batten down the hatches” against competition. They make it hard for competition to score, a team that has been sliding as much as Watford has certainly showed they are struggling to score. With the new addition of the Weghorst and the floundering identity of Watford, I like for Burnley to get a home victory in a tight defensive low scoring match. 1-0 match prediction.