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Watford and Stoke City go head-to-head at Vicarage Road Stadium on Tuesday for a place in round four of the League Cup.
Having lost the last two meetings between the sides, the visitors will head into the game seeking to get one over their hosts.
Watford returned to winning ways in the Premier League as they claimed a comfortable 3-1 win away to Norwich City last time out.
Teemu Pukki struck in the 35th minute to cancel out Emmanuel Dennis’ opener, but Ismaila hit a second-half brace to hand the Hornets all three points.
This followed consecutive defeats at the hands of Tottenham and Wolverhampton Wanderers in their previous two outings.
Watford will hope their win last time out can serve as a springboard for a fine run of form as they look to move into the next round of the EFL Cup.
Meanwhile, Stoke City failed to return to winning ways last time out as they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Derby County.
In a riveting contest at Pride Park Stadium, the Rams raced to a two-goal lead through Max Bird and Curtis Davies before Thomas Ince pulled one back 13 minutes after the interval.
Stoke City are currently fifth in the EFL Championship table and will hope to carry on their solid form into the cup.
Watford vs Stoke City Head-To-Head
Stoke City have a slight upper hand in the history of this fixture, claiming eight wins from their previous 18 encounters. Watford have picked up one fewer win, while three games have ended in draws.
Watford Form Guide (all competitions): L-W-L-L-W
Stoke City Form Guide (all competitions): W-L-W-D-L
Watford vs Stoke City Team News
Watford
The hosts remain without the services of Joao Pedro, who has been sidelined due to a knee problem.
Injured: Joao Pedro
Suspended: None
Stoke City
Steven Fletcher, Morgan Fox, Tashan Oakley-Boothe and Joe Allen are all recuperating from injuries and will miss the game.
Injured: Steven Fletcher, Morgan Fox, Tashan Oakley-Boothe, Joe Allen
Suspended: None
Watford vs Stoke City Predicted XI
Watford Predicted XI (4-1-4-1): Daniel Bachmann, Jeremy Ngakia, William Troost-Ekong, Christian Kabasele, Adam Masina, Peter Etebo, Ismaila Sarr, Moussa Sissoko, Joshua King, Emmanuel Dennis, Cucho Hernandez
Stoke City Predicted XI (3-5-2): Josef Bursik; Ben Wilmot, Harry Souttar, Leo Ostigard; Josh Tymon, Mario Vranic, Alfie Doughty, Romaine Sawyers, Sam Clucas; Sam Surridge, Jacob Brown
Watford vs Stoke City Prediction
Watford head into the game off the back of a morale-boosting win over Norwich and will be full of confidence. Stoke City have struggled to get going in recent weeks and we predict they will once again be edged out on Tuesday.
Prediction: Watford 2-1 Stoke City
