Watford

Mark Lawrenson takes on rapper and Chelsea fan ArrDee in the latest round of Premier League predictions.

Lawro's prediction: 2-0

Watford boss Roy Hodgson has come in so late in the season that he is still searching for his best XI and is also unsure about which formation to use, which is far from ideal when you are stuck in the bottom three with time running out to get out of trouble.

The Hornets have won only one of Hodgson's seven games in charge and it's hard to see where the improvement they need will come from now.

Southampton have been very strong at St Mary's this season, so this is another difficult game for Watford. Mind you, most games look hard when you are a run like they are on.

ArrDee's prediction: I can't see a lot of goals in this game. 1-0

Find out how Lawro and ArrDee think the rest of the weekend's fixtures will go

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Southampton winger Nathan Tella could make his comeback from the groin injury which has caused him to miss the past nine games.

Goalkeeper Alex McCarthy and defender Lyanco remain long-term absentees.

Watford defender William Troost-Ekong is likely to be available after a groin strain, while full-back Jeremy Ngakia might return from a hamstring issue.

Forward Joao Pedro missed the defeat at Wolverhampton with Covid-19, while Ismaila Sarr is still out.

Choose your Saints side to face Watford

Select your Hornest starting line-up

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Roy Hodgson has called for his players to “move on” from a humbling defeat at Wolves on Thursday evening.

The Hornets conceded three goals in a brutal first-half spell and are three points from safety, having played more games than Burnley and Everton, the two sides immediately above them.

Sunday’s game at Southampton offers an instant chance to reignite their quest to stay in the Premier League, and Hodgson rejected any suggestion his players are not trying.

“It’s a heavy defeat, but we have to keep ourselves going,” he said. “The result and performance don’t have to affect us for the next game if we don’t want them to.

“It gets hard when you feel your players don’t care enough, and I don’t think we’re in that situation.

“We could be accused in a lot of areas of not being good enough at the moment, but they really are doing the work.

“They are covering the ground, they are making the tackles, they are getting back in after we’ve lost the ball.

“If we’re going to survive, that’s what we need.”

• Southampton are unbeaten in their past six Premier League games against Watford, winning each of the past three (D3). Indeed, Saints have lost just two of their 13 meetings with the Hornets overall in the competition (W6 D5).

• Watford have lost each of their past seven Premier League games on a Sunday, including all four such games this season. In Premier League history, only three sides have ever lost eight consecutive Sunday games – Birmingham City (2005-2007), Bournemouth (2015-2016) and Fulham (2018-2020).

• Saints midfielder James Ward-Prowse has scored four goals in his past five Premier League starts against Watford. Against no side has he scored more goals in the competition than his four against the Hornets.

• Hornets boss Roy Hodgson has won just three of his 11 Premier League meetings with Southampton (D2 L6). Of all sides he’s faced at least 10 times in the competition, he’s only won fewer against Tottenham (W1 D6 L12).

Watford return to Premier League action on Sunday when they travel to Southampton for a vital game in their survival quest.

The Hornets have shown signs of improvement under Roy Hodgson but made a catalogue of errors in Thursday's dire 4-0 loss at Wolves to stay second bottom.

Should Hodgson make wholesale changes to his starting XI after the Molineux mauling? Who do you want to see line up at St Mary's?

It's time to choose your Hornets side to face Southampton

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• Wolves enjoyed their joint-biggest Premier League victory, matching a 4-0 win over Blackpool in February 2011.

• Watford failed to manage a shot on target for the first time in 32 league games, since April 2021 against Luton in the Championship.

• Bruno Lage's side completed the league double over the Hornets for just the third time, previously doing so in the second tier in both 1991-92 and 2008-09.

• Watford have conceded three own goals in the Premier League this season, with only Everton (four) putting through their own net more often.

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Simon Stone, BBC Sport

Roy Hodgson has made no secret of his desire to bring defensive discipline to Watford, believing that if they are to succeed in their quest to avoid relegation it will come through organisation.

The opening period must have come as a nasty shock.

The Hornets seemed unable to cope with a Wolves attack that has never been viewed as one of the more potent in the top flight.

They have won just one of their past 16 league games, missed the opportunity to move level on points with fourth-bottom Everton and, worryingly for them, they have also played more matches than the sides immediately above them and have a worse goal difference.

Wolves, meanwhile, can reflect on having scored three times in the first half of a Premier League game at Molineux for the first time since their April 2019 win over Arsenal.

This was also the first time they have done a Premier League double over Watford.

The result also keeps Bruno Lage's eighth-placed side in with a chance of securing a return to European football two seasons after reaching the Europa League quarter-finals.

Watford manager Roy Hodgson: "Wolves are a quality team. At half-time we were staring down the barrel of a gun.

"It was a wonder chip from Ruben Neves but at 3-0 you are in big trouble. All the goals are mistakes, some are clearer mistakes than others.

"It was disappointing in every respect. We have a very sad dressing room. It gets hard when your players don’t care enough, but we are not in that position yet. We have to hold our hands up that we are not good enough at times, but not that they don’t care.

"These players need to feel anxiety because we are running out of time."

Jonny and Willy Boly make their first Premier League starts of the season for Wolves.

They are two of four changes as Jonny starts for the first time in a year while Boly is involved for the first time since Wolves' League Cup defeat to Tottenham back in September after struggling with injuries.

Raul Jimenez and Rayan Ait-Nour also come back into the side.

Wolves XI: Jose Sa, Boly, Coady, Saiss, Jonny, Neves, Joao Moutinho, Ait Nouri, Daniel Podence, Hwang, Jimenez.

Subs: Marcal, Pedro Neto, Trincao, Silva, Chiquinho, Ruddy, Kilman, Dendoncker, Cundle.

Joshua King makes his return from injury to take his place in the Watford starting line-up.

The inclusion of the forward is the only change made by boss Roy Hodgson from the side that lost to Arsenal last-time out.

Watford XI: Foster, Femenia, Cathcart, Samir, Kamara, Sissoko, Louza, Cleverley, Hernandez, Dennis, King.

Subs: Etebo, Masina, Sema, Bachmann, Kabasele, Kalu, Sierralta, Kucka, Kayembe.

Geoff Doyle, BBC Three Counties Radio

Watford have 11 matches left to stay in the Premier League. They probably need to win five or six of them to avoid the drop, so games are running out.

The Hornets put in one of their better performances in defeat by Arsenal last time out and they must build on that. The new front three of Emmanuel Dennis, Joao Pedro and Cucho Hernandez was a major positive.

Dennis is the leading scorer and has been a regular all season, but it was the other two who caught the eye.

Pedro just gets better and better. The lean Brazilian oozes class and if the Hornets do go down, they are going to struggle to keep him at the club in the Championship. His ability to drift past players with the ball at his feet is beautiful to watch as his technical ability shines through. A good Arsenal team were struggling to get near him at times.

Hernandez is also a likeable player. Smaller in size, he's like a little pocket rocket bursting forward, using his low centre of gravity and causing havoc. His scissor-kick goal against Arsenal was simply sensational, and not only is he a pest in attack, he works hard for the team out of possession.

If Dennis can return to the form we have seen from him over the season, Watford have a chance. Defensively - as a team - the Hornets have struggled all season. Out of possession they have to be absolutely bang on it all the time and playing at their top level. Any lapses in concentration and they are prone to conceding goals. Mentally - and to a lesser extent physically - this is extremely tough.

But another big positive of the past couple of months has been the form of Hassane Kamara. The £4m January signing from Nice has excelled at left-back. He's quick, good on the ball and defends well. Bukayo Saka was brilliant for the Gunners against Watford, but Kamara still managed to win a lot of their duels.

Watford still have to travel to Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea so this match at Wolves - while not easy - is one of those away games that they could do with getting something from.

Wolves have lost their past three games, and they never really got going against Crystal Palace last weekend.

Goals have been pretty scarce for Bruno Lage's side all season, but I think they will find a way through Watford.

Arsenal beat the Hornets 3-2 last weekend, but the scoreline could have been a lot bigger than that.

Lawro’s prediction: Wolves 2-1 Watford

Ki-Jana Hoever has been ruled out with the hamstring injury that prompted his first-half substitution against Crystal Palace.

With Nelson Semedo unavailable with a similar issue, Jonny Otto could make his first start for a year.

Watford remain without Ismaila Sarr but team-mate Joshua King will be assessed. Both missed the game against Arsenal on Sunday because of hamstring injuries.

William Troost-Ekong is available after overcoming a muscle strain.

Who makes your Wolves team to face Watford?

Pick your Hornets starting XI against Wolves

Alistair Bruce-Ball, Chris Sutton and Statman Dave bring you all the latest from the world of fantasy football.

They look at strategies for navigating the next two game weeks, including whether Matt Doherty and Harry Kane should come into your sides.

Dave shows a surprising affection for a certain type of animal.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

• Wolves have lost their past three Premier League games, as many as they’d lost in their previous 13 in the competition (W7 D3 L3) – they last lost four consecutive top-flight games within the same season in 2011-12 (seven).

• Since a run in which they conceded in 17 consecutive away Premier League matches between January 2020 and January 2022, Watford have kept three clean sheets in four away games under manager Roy Hodgson, conceding just once.

• Wolves have conceded six goals in their past four Premier League games, having conceded just five times in their previous 12. Wolves were 2-0 down at half-time against Crystal Palace last time out, having conceded only twice in the first half of their previous 19 Premier League games combined.

• Some 63% of Watford’s points this season have come away from home (12/19), the highest share in the top flight this campaign. The Hornets have lost just one of their past five on the road in the league (W1 D3), having lost 12 of 14 before this run.

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Roy Hodgson says he is longing for that "wonderful day" when Watford can pick up three points even when the "performance is lacking."

The Hornets have scored just four goals under their new manager but have seen an improvement in performances since Hodgson's arrival.

Despite having very few points to show for it, the former England manager praised his players.

"They have worked very hard to buy into some of the thoughts we have.

"We have got no complaints at all but the big problem is turning a decent performances into three points.

"On more than one occasion we have put in a more than decent performance but it's not led to points.

"Then you are back with the old dilemma - you know you need performances to get points, but you are still really hoping for that wonderful day when the performance is lacking but the points are there."

Watford manager Roy Hodgson has been speaking to the media before their trip to Wolves on Thursday.

Here are the key lines:

• Hodgson felt Watford "did a lot of good things" against Arsenal, giving his side something to "take forward".

• He acknowledged that performances have been better but it is now about "turning those performances into three points".

• Boos were heard around the stadium when Imran Louza was substituted in the second half against Arsenal, but Hodgson was full of praise for the Watford fans: "I thought the crowd was good and they tried to will us over the line."

• Despite their struggles at Vicarage Road, the Hornets boss said he believes there isn't a "gulf in performances" when they play at home.

• However, he acknowledged there may be "more pressure to take risks to score goals, because keeping a clean sheet is never going to be enough".

Watford return to Premier League action on Thursday with a trip to Molineux to face Wolves.

Who should make Roy Hodgson's starting XI as his side look to avoid back-to-back defeats?

After scoring twice and taking Arsenal all the way in Sunday's defeat, should the Hornets boss stick with the same line-up?

It's time to pick your Hornets side to face Wolves

BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra has you covered across the Premier League and Champions League this week:

Monday, 7 March

• Tottenham v Everton (20:00) - 5 Live

Tuesday, 8 March

• Liverpool v Inter Milan (20:00) - 5 Live

Wednesday, 9 March

• Manchester City v Sporting Lisbon (20:00) - Sports Extra

Thursday, 10 March

• Norwich City v Chelsea (19:30) - 5 Live

• Wolverhampton Wanderers v Watford (19:30) - Sports Extra

Saturday, 12 March

• Brentford v Burnley (15:00) - 5 Live

Sunday, 13 March

• Leeds United v Norwich City (14:00) - 5 Live

• Arsenal v Leicester City (16:30) - 5 Live

All times GMT