Watford and Burnley meet for the first time since their respective relegations from the Premier League.

Whenever sides come down, they are often fancied to, at the very least, compete to go back up and there is no exception to that rule with these sides.

Both the Hornets and the Clarets have had decent starts to the campaign, too.

Watford beat Sheffield United 1-0 in their Championship opener and followed it up with a point away at West Brom on Monday night.

Burnley, meanwhile, beat Huddersfield 1-0 on the opening day, but were frustrated by Luton Town at Turf Moor last weekend, drawing 1-1.

With both sides level on points, it looks set to be an intriguing tie this evening.

Here, we've identified three things to look out for in the match.

The midfield battle

One of the key things to watch tonight will be the midfield battle, and it could play a big part in determining the result of the match.

Burnley have looked impressive progressing the ball through Josh Cullen in their opening matches, and on the flip side, Watford's midfield duo of Edo Kayembe and Tom Cleverley were played through with absolute ease away at West Brom on Monday night.

As a result, Rob Edwards will likely tweak the system slightly and could switch to a three man midfield for the clash.

It will be interesting to see who gets the nod for a start if he does so, and how it works up against what has looked an impressive Burnley midfield so far.

 

 

Watford's counter-attack

We saw on the opening day of their Championship campaign just how devastating Watford's counter-attack can be.

Their winner against Sheffield United came from a Blades corner, with the likes of Ismaila Sarr, Joao Pedro and Emmanuel Dennis all countering to provide the winner that night.

Although Dennis is set for an exit and will likely not play this evening, Pedro and Sarr still pose a significant threat on the counter, particularly given how Burnley play.

In their opening matches, we have seen Ian Maatsen and Connor Roberts contribute greatly in attack, but in doing so, there are potentially big gaps there for Watford to exploit.

Burnley's cutting edge

Whilst Burnley have been impressive in midfield, one area they have perhaps lacked that cutting edge is the striking department.

It was plain to see against Huddersfield on the opening night of the season, and left the Clarets frustrated when they drew with Luton last weekend.

Vincent Kompany's side underperformed against their expected goals (xG) versus Huddersfield Town, and against Luton, found the target with just one of their 11 shots on the day.

Burnley simply have to improve in the final third, and it will be interesting to see what work has been done between last weekend and this evening to address these issues.