David Prutton has shared his prediction for when Leeds United travel to Vicarage Road to face Watford tonight.
It has been 12 days since Leeds were last in action when a 2-0 victory over Millwall moved the Whites top of the Championship for the first time all season.
The international break, however, has allowed Leeds with a quick opportunity to take a break from the twists and turns of the promotion race, which has been like no other so far.
Leeds will be looking to pick up from where they left off before the mini hiatus of club football having won 12 of their 13 league matches since the turn of the New Year, which is what has put them in this position.
Farke, though, will be sweating on the fitness of key man Georginio Rutter with his availability still not certain, having undergone minor surgery at the beginning of last week. Rutter’s best performance in a Leeds shirt came in the return fixture back in September.
Watford, meanwhile, have some problems of their own, too, with key defender Wesley Hoedt suspended and left-back Jamal Lewis a major doubt.
Prutton shares prediction for Watford vs Leeds
Three points for Leeds would see them cement their position at the top of the table ahead of a potentially huge Easter Monday, where six of the division’s top seven go head-to-head. One of those fixtures includes Ipswich Town vs Southampton.
And writing in his latest EFL predictions column for Sky Sports, Prutton has predicted Leeds to narrowly get the job done against a Watford side set to be managed at home for the first time by Tom Cleverley.
He said: “Tom Cleverley enjoyed a decent start in charge of Watford, winning his first game as interim boss. But Leeds are a very different proposition to Birmingham City.
“Daniel Farke’s side went top of the Championship before the international break, a feat that seemed unthinkable not too long ago, but they have been utterly relentless.
“They’ll have to sit and watch the rest of the action unfold on Good Friday before heading out at Vicarage Road, but they are to good right now not to get the job done. Prediction: Watford 1-2 Leeds.“
Leeds are going to have to grind out result tonight
The first game back after the international break is always tough but perhaps even more so tonight given the tight turnaround and injury issues.
There still remains uncertainty over whether Georginio Rutter, Junior Firpo, Willy Gnonto, Ilia Gruev or Connor Roberts will be available, all of whom are important.
Daniel Farke, therefore, may have to utilise his whole squad at Vicarage Road and it is undoubtedly going to be a grind to come away with three points.
With that said, hopefully the issues Farke cited on Wednesday were not overly serious and a few of them are in that starting XI this evening.
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