Mark Mitchener
BBC Sport at Vitality Stadium

With a quarter of the game gone, the biggest round of applause from the home supporters... came a few minutes ago when Jermain Defoe ran along the touchline to warm up with his fellow substitutes.

His last competitive appearance here in Bournemouth colours was on 28 April 2001 - the day before they began demolishing Dean Court to turn the pitch through 90 degrees and redevelop the ground into its current all-seater configuration.

Watford's Miguel Britos is the first man in the book, with a challenge that sends Harry Arter flying. No complaints about that yellow card.

A bustling run forward from Joshua King eventually sees him run out of space as imposing defender Miguel Britos is there to shut the door on the Norwegian, the surprise package of last season with 16 Premier League goals.

Moments after, Adam Smith and Richarlison clash heads, but both men are OK to carry on.

Some excellent defending at the near post from the dreadlocked Nathan Ake, who launches himself into a diving header to clear the danger from Watford's Kiko Femenia's whipped ball into the box.

A half-chance for Watford as Nordin Amrabat's cross is met by the head of Nathaniel Chalobah, but the effort is well off target and perhaps the midfielder, a £6m summer signing from Chelsea, should have done better with that one.

Watford have a decent spell of possession, but the home defence are well organised on this occasion as firstly Kiko Femenia sees a cross blocked before Nathaniel Chalobah is flagged offside at the back post when he had some space.

Not too much to get excited about so far, with neither side testing the opposing keeper yet.

Mark Mitchener
BBC Sport at Vitality Stadium

The phrase "but can he do it on a wet Tuesday night in December in Stoke?" is routinely trotted out at this time of year - perhaps the antithesis of that question might be "can he do it on a warm Saturday in August in Bournemouth?".

Despite a light breeze, the crowd are in their shirtsleeves but the benign conditions don't seem to be helping the hosts, who have been off colour so far, while those long throws from Jose Holebas - perhaps they sense a Cherries weakness against set-pieces after West Brom's success last week - have been Watford's main attacking threat.

The long throws from Watford's Jose Holebas could cause some problems for the hosts. It is the second time we have seen it so far this afternoon and this time it leads to a half-chance for Abdoulaye Doucoure, before the hosts manage to smuggle the ball clear.

Chance for the hosts.

Some good play from Joshua King, who gives it to Ryan Fraser inside the penalty area and his left-footed shot causes problems for Watford goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes.

The ball bounces up, hits him in the face and falls to Benik Afobe five yards out. But luckily for the visitors an excellent last-ditch block from Miguel Britos diverts Afobe's shot over the top.

Image source, Reuters

But Bournemouth make a complete hash of it. They play it short, and then when the ball is pushed forward the Watford defence had charged out and the assistant's flag is up for offside.

First corner of the game goes to Bournemouth.

The teams are on the pitch, the pre-match formalities have been done and we are ready to go.

Mark Mitchener
BBC Sport at Vitality Stadium

It's a sea of red and black as the players exchange handshakes - with both sides in red and black training tops, and black shorts with red trim.

Curiously, the Premier League does not require teams to change their shorts if there is a clash. If this were an FA Cup tie, Watford would have to change their shorts.

Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe: "There were some positives at West Brom, but not too many.

"We need to get our tempo and passing moving and if we do that we will have a good chance.

"We played Hull in Marco Silva's first game and that day Hull were very impressive. After the game he also left an impression on me; he was very friendly and knowledgeable and had done his research about the Premier League.

"It doesn't surprise me that he is still in the league with a job."

Image source, Getty Images

Mark Lawrenson
Former Liverpool defender

Watford's draw with Liverpool last Saturday was a real rollercoaster ride with them twice going in front and then rescuing a point with a last-gasp equaliser.

The Hornets looked decent up front but obviously had some problems at the back, and Bournemouth will feel like they can hurt them.

The Cherries' 1-0 defeat by West Brom was a little bit of a nothing game, not helped by the fact they conceded relatively early on because the Baggies just shut up shop.

That won't happen this time around, and I am backing Eddie Howe's side to get off the mark.

Lawro's prediction: 2-1

Each week, Lawro predicts the Premier League scores and this week he takes on actor Will Poulter.

Can you do any better? Prove it with our Predictions game here.

Image source, Getty Images

Mark Mitchener
BBC Sport at Vitality Stadium

Nathan Ake, who adorns the cover of today's match programme, has a foot in both camps after making 24 appearances for Watford in a season-long loan from Chelsea in 2015-16. Meanwhile, Hornets legend Luther Blissett recalls his three-year stay here under Harry Redknapp inside.

Image source, BBC Sport

Watford manager Marco Silva says he has been forced into three of the four changes that he has made because of injuries.

BBC Sport app users may need to click on the link to see the tweet.

Image source, BBC Sport

• Bournemouth have conceded 135 goals in the Premier League since they were promoted in 2015, more than any other top-flight side.
• All four meetings between Bournemouth and Watford in the Premier League have ended all square – no Premier League fixture has seen a draw in each of its first five matches.

Mark Mitchener
BBC Sport at Vitality Stadium

These sides have enjoyed a healthy rivalry in the past few years, when Bournemouth's first away game after their promotion to the Championship was a 6-1 thrashing at Vicarage Road in August 2013, before the Cherries pipped the Hornets to the title as both were promoted to the top flight in 2015.

In fact, six of the sides' last seven league meetings have been draws, including two exciting 2-2s this season. Based on Watford's 3-3 draw with Liverpool last week, we should expect goals this afternoon.

Image source, Getty Images

John Roder
Match of the Day commentator

Bournemouth and Watford came up from the Championship together in 2015, and since then we haven't had a winner when they've met.

The Premier League fixtures last season between these sides ended 2-2, with Bournemouth's Joshua King and Watford's Troy Deeney scoring in each match.

The fact that both teams have struggled to keep clean sheets in 2017 suggests we may again see plenty of goals this weekend.

Whether Marco Silva can get his first Watford win against Bournemouth - as he did for Hull earlier this year - remains to be seen. With the recent history of this fixture, he may have to settle for a draw.

Twitter: @johnrodercomm, external

Image source, Getty Images