Watford travel to Staffordshire this weekend to face a Stoke City side looking to grab a fourth consecutive Premier League win for the first time since December 2011.
After a bumpy start for the home side, they have found their feet, after a 1-0 away win against Swansea City on Monday, thanks to a Bojan penalty in the early stages of the game.
This is the Hornets’ fifth away game of the season, and they’re going into this game after a demoralizing 3-0 defeat at home to title chasing Arsenal.
The last time the Hornets and Potter faced eachother was the Championship season of 2007-08, at the Britannia, and recorded a stereotypical 0-0 away result.
Quotes From The Bosses:
Watford boss Quique Flores speaking to watfordfc.com: ‘We know perfectly well that Stoke is a very tough team. They are playing at home, and in the last few weeks they have had some very good results, so they are full of confidence,’ the Spaniard warned.
‘Against Arsenal we had good feelings for the first hour, but we will try to correct the mistakes we made. We want to be positive and we want to be competitive in the next match.’
Stoke City boss Mark Hughes speaking to stokecityfc.com: “Back-to-back wins at this level is huge, and we have seen how different the outlook of our season is now compared to what it was just three or four weeks ago,” the Welshman said.
“It`s still early in the season and we would like to think that we will continue to improve and keep producing promising performances and picking up good results.’
Stoke City Team News:
The Potters will no doubt be boosted by the fact that Jon Walters, Ryan Shawcross and Mame Diouf are all available for selection again.
Walters missed Stoke’s trip to Swansea on Monday with a groin injury, whilst Ryan Shawcross returns after having back surgery.
Meanwhile, Mame Diouf returns from compassionate leave.
Player to watch: Charlie Adam
Charlie Adam has been a key man at Stoke for a few seasons now, and can usually pop up with a goal from his midfield position, the area where Capoue will need to be alert for the full ninety minutes.
Watford Team News:
The Hornets remain without Joel Ekstrand and Tommie Hoban, whilst Jurado remains out of contention with a hamstring injury.
Valon Behrami made the bench for the Arsenal clash after returning from suspension, but was pushed aside due to a calf problem.
The Swiss midfielder and been working hard to regain his fitness, and will be assessed prior to the clash.
Quique Flores did drop a hint that fan favourite, Adlene Guedioura, could be in contention for an appearance.
Player to watch: Etienne Capoue
Personally, I thought that the French midfielder was outstanding vs Arsenal, which goes alongside his string of impressive performances already this season.
No doubt he will be looking to put in another good display in Staffordshire this weekend.
Ref Watch:
The referee this weekend is the experienced Martin Atkinson. Read our ‘Man In The Middle’ feature to get the lowdown on the man from West Yorkshire HERE.
