The Italian Jobless

I have a great deal of sympathy for Walter Mazzarri. On April 15th Watford sat 10th with the ‘job done’ of reaching 40 points. Since then they’ve lost five on the bounce but their fixture run has been pretty brutal. Away trips to Chelsea, Everton, Leicester and Hull and a solitary home game with Liverpool.

With Mazzarri now relieved of his duties don’t be surprised if he leaves with credit on Sunday. The Hornets are a best price 13/10 (BetFair) in the +2 handicap market. So even if the hosts lose by 1 - we win.

Avoiding a heavy defeat looks likely even if Man City do need a result. Watford have won, drawn or lost by one goal in 16 of their 18 games at Vicarage Road with only Chelsea and Spurs recording victories with any comfort margin.

Indeed, they only lost 4-3 to the new champions last time out at Stamford Bridge after a very late goal. Another reason why Mazzarri can count himself most unfortunate.