All eyes - and perhaps a few binoculars - will be on Vicarage Road at lunchtime on Sunday as Watford entertain Southampton in the Championship.
Expelled from the Championship play-off final in the wake of the “Spygate” scandal, Tonda Eckert's Southampton will be eager to put the past behind them as they look to orchestrate a promotion charge.
Eckert is still the subject of an ongoing FA investigation into the incidents of last season, but while he waits to learn of a possible punishment, the German's squad remains largely identical to the one that ended the previous campaign on a 21-match unbeaten league run.
Watford supporters will no doubt relish the occasion on Sunday, and they will be getting behind a new manager as Alessio Dionisi takes charge of his first league fixture.
Dionisi is Watford's 12th head coach since the end of the 2020/21 season and the Italian will be looking to get a tune out of a talented squad that desperately craves some form of continuity.
Ahead of Sunday's Championship fixture, Mark Stinchcombe of the Football Betting Club has picked out his best bets and fancies the Saints to make a winning start to the campaign.
Watford v Southampton Prediction
Best Bet: Southampton to Win @ 21/20
Alternative Bet: Southampton 0.0, -0.5 Asian Handicap @ 1.800
"I think Southampton are a Premier League team in all but name," said Mark. "They've kept the majority of their team together, although they've lost Ross Stewart and Shea Charles, but they've brought in Lewis Dobbin and they've got the return of Ben Brereton Diaz.
"Cyle Larin's joined on a permanent basis off the back of a really good World Cup for Canada and he is a decent player. He's scored goals in La Liga, in Turkey and he'll continue where he left off.
"It's easy to forget the Saints are unbeaten in their last 21 matches, winning 14 of them, and we know everything about Watford, right? It's the usual merry-go-round with players and a manager.
"It's a bit alarming that the Hornets seem to be finishing lower with each season. Have the ownership taken their eye off the ball a little bit? They've allowed arguably their best player and one of the most talented in the Championship in Giorgi Chakvetadze to leave and go to Udinese.
"We know Watford tend to drop off in the second half of a season, and I do wonder if they're sleepwalking into the new campaign and possibly into a relegation battle.
"Based on the whole of the second half of last season, they were the fourth worst team, and you compare that against the Saints that were the best team in the second half of last season, then I think Southampton being available at 21/20 is the way to go.
"I'm going to be a little cautious as it's the opening weekend and back Southampton at minus a quarter on the Asian Handicap, so it'll be half stakes returned if it finishes in a draw."
Key Match Stats
Watford lost their final five matches of last season by an aggregate score of 1-16
Southampton are unbeaten in their last 21 league matches, winning 14 of them
Watford have won just one of their last 14 meetings against Southampton in all competitions
Southampton haven't lost on their last 10 visits to Vicarage Road; Watford's last home victory over the Saints was in September 2007
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All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
