FUL1
MAN1
BOU0
LIV1
LEE0
CRY0
MNC5
SUN3
NOR3
BOL4
WOL1
WBA0
BHA1
AVL1
CRY0
TOT7
WHU0
EVE1
CEL0
RAN1
NCD
SOL
FIJ
VAN
DMA
AIAWatford - Southampton
Watford v Southampton: four-point gap before a ball is kicked
Southampton arrive at Vicarage Road on Sunday already four points adrift of Watford, who have yet to play a match this season. The visitors won their most recent outing 2-0 but carry a points deduction into the campaign following the spying controversy that dominated their close season.
The handicap
Southampton begin the league season on minus four points, a sanction imposed after Flagside reported the club's involvement in an alleged spy operation. Watford were scheduled to open their campaign on 8 August but that fixture was postponed; Southampton played theirs and won 2-0. The hosts sit 14th in the table with zero points from zero games, the visitors 24th with minus four from one game. Six clubs have already taken three points from the opening round.
Watford's last completed match brought a 1-0 win, ending a run of four straight defeats that stretched back through April and early May. Southampton have won three of their last five, drawing the other two. The sequence includes a 2-1 victory sandwiched between a goalless draw and a 3-1 win, though none of those results carried league standing into this fixture.
Recent meetings
The sides have met five times in the past two years. Southampton have won three, Watford none, with two drawn. The most recent meeting in February ended 0-1 to Southampton. Before that came a 2-2 draw in August 2025, then a 3-2 defeat in April 2024, a 3-0 defeat in February 2024 and a 1-1 draw in January 2024. Watford have not won any of the five meetings on record.
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