Newcastle United will have to overcome a poor record at Vicarage Road if they are to return to the North East with all three points on Saturday.
The Magpies have lost three of their last four visits to the home of Watford and have not won in Hertfordshire since 2010 when the two sides were in the Championship.
This was, in fact, their only win at the Hornets in the last 20 years and although they have only met on 10 occasions in that time period, it is a statistic they will have to change if they are to secure their first win of the season.
In the two sides’ last meeting at Vicarage Road, despite a first-half Dwight Gayle opener, Steve Bruce’s side were undone by two Troy Deeney penalties to condemn the Magpies to a 2-1 defeat.
In fact, 2-1 has been the common score line when the two clubs have locked horns at Watford, as in four of the last five encounters this has been the margin of victory, with the Hornets victorious in three of those.
And it is not only a poor recent record against Xisco Muñoz’s side that Newcastle will have to defy if they are to come away with a positive result too.
The Magpies are yet to win in the Premier League so far this season, picking up only two points thanks to home draws against Southampton and Leeds United.
Watford, on the other hand, will be entering Saturday’s clash high on confidence after they ended a run of three consecutive defeats with a comprehensive 3-1 victory at Norwich City.
