Watford v Arsenal Team News

Quique Sanchez Flores gets his second managerial stint at Watford underway on Sunday as Arsenal make the trip to Vicarage Road.

After just over three seasons away from the Hertfordshire outfit, Sanchez Flores was brought back as Watford boss following the sacking of Javi Gracia during the recent international break.

The 54-year-old takes charge of a team languishing at the bottom of the Premier League after taking just one point from a possible 12 on offer, their lowest tally at this stage of a league season since 2006-07.

Defeat on Sunday would equal the club’s top-flight record of five consecutive home league defeats and the Hornets could be without the services of defender Craig Cathcart, who is struggling with a muscle problem.

The Northern Ireland international joins striker Troy Deeney on the sidelines, with the captain still recovering from knee surgery that has kept him out of the last three matches in all competitions.

Arsenal have made a positive start to their campaign and make the trip to Watford on the back of a 2-2 north London derby draw against Tottenham Hotspur, having come from 2-0 behind.

Defensively, the Gunners continue to struggle and have kept just nine clean sheets in 42 Premier League matches under Unai Emery, but two of those were against Watford last season.

At the other end of the pitch, Gabon international Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has scored 12 goals in his last 13 appearances in all competitions and is expected to lead the line once again.

French forward Alexandre Lacazette has been ruled out until at least October because of an ankle injury, while right-back Hector Bellerin, left-back Kieran Tierney and centre-back Dinos Mavropanos are also out.

Centre-back Rob Holding has returned to full training but Sunday’s encounter comes too early for him.

Arsenal will be without Alexandre Lacazette until October due to an ankle problem pic.twitter.com/0TR953S9m5
— Arsenal FC News (@ArsenalFC_fl) September 13, 2019