Watford and Oxford United will kick off the Championship weekend on Friday, when they meet at Vicarage Road.
The visitors climbed up to 14th spot in the Championship table with a midweek victory, while their hosts remain fifth despite suffering a defeat on Tuesday.
Match preview
© Imago
Watford head back to Vicarage Road on Friday aiming to bounce back to winning ways and strengthen their standing at the top end of the Championship after a strong start to the season.
In their first full campaign under the management of Tom Cleverley, they currently sit fifth having earned 22 points from their first 14 outings, albeit with only six of those coming from two victories alongside three defeats in their last five games.
It is at home where the Hornets have excelled thus far, with no side in England's second tier having topped their tally of 16 points from six matches on home turf, most recently seeing off Blackburn Rovers at Vicarage Road.
Cleverley's men did then end a tough run on the road with an eye-catching triumph away at Sheffield Wednesday, as Vakoun Issouf Bayo netted four goals in the second half alongside finishes from Ryan Porteous and Tom Ince in a 6-2 thrashing, only to visit Swansea City on Tuesday and succumb to a 1-0 defeat as Myles Peart-Harris netted the only goal in the 35th minute.
Now returning to Hertfordshire with a slender lead over seventh spot but with plenty of positives to take from their start to the term, Watford will go in search of a sixth home victory of the campaign on Friday.
© Imago
Their visitors, meanwhile, make the trip aiming to make it consecutive league victories for the second time this season on Friday, having ended a tough winless streak in midweek.
Oxford United head into Friday's meeting with 17 points on the board from 14 games following their promotion from League One last time around, although they have not fared well away from home, with only two of those points coming from six matches on the road.
The U's suffered a 2-0 defeat to Sunderland in their most recent trip, before a 2-1 loss at home to Swansea City on Saturday left them winless in eight games since mid-September heading into Tuesday's meeting with Hull City.
Des Buckingham's side were able to stop the rot in that game, as Hidde ter Avest netted the only goal of the game in the 55th minute.
That result saw Oxford United put a healthy gap between themselves and the Championship's bottom three, and they will now bid to record a second straight triumph to further solidify their mid-table position.
Team News
© Imago
Watford remain without midfielder Moussa Sissoko heading into Friday's game due to a suspension, while defender Francisco Sierralta will also miss out with a one-match ban having picked up a fifth yellow card of the season on Tuesday.
The Hornets are also hit by the injuries of Angelo Ogbonna and Tom Dele-Bashiru, although Ryan Porteous will return from his own suspension and should rejoin Mattie Pollock at the heart of a back four in Sierralta's absence.
Pierre Dwomoh should again get the nod alongside Edo Kayembe and Tom Ince in the midfield, while Vakoun Issouf Bayo could again lead the line with support from Ken Sema and danger man Giorgi Chakvetadze.
Oxford United continue to contend with a long injury list, as key midfielder Cameron Brannagan is set to remain confined to the treatment room with Joe Bennett, Przemyslaw Placheta, Matt Phillips, Kyle Edwards and Siriki Dembele.
Des Buckingham should deploy a similar starting XI from Tuesday's victory over Hull City, although Mark Harris will hope to regain his spot up front from Dane Scarlett, having settled for a substitute appearance in midweek having managed four league goals so far this season.
Ruben Rodrigues should also return from the outset, likely operating in an advanced midfield role ahead of Idris El Mizouni and Will Vaulks.
Watford possible starting lineup:
Bachmann; Ebosele, Pollock, Porteous, Larouci; Ince, Dwomoh, Kayembe; Sema, Bayo, Chakvetadze
Oxford United possible starting lineup:
Cumming; Ter Avest, Long, Moore, Brown; Vaulks, El Mizouni; Goodrham, Rodrigues, Ebiowei; Harris
We say: Watford 3-1 Oxford United
Aiming to maintain their near-perfect record at Vicarage Road this season, we see Watford having the quality to come out on top in another high-scoring contest on Saturday.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
