Slavisa Jokanovic’s high-flying Hornets host Gary Rowett’s Blues, who have little to play for but pride today. With relegation no issue, but promotion also out of the question for the West Midlands side, Rowett may make some changes to his starting line up in preparation for the summer transfer window and next season.
Watford on the other hand are gunning for promotion, and with last night’s top of the table clash between Norwich and Middlesbrough ending with a Boro victory, the Hornets now have it in their own hands. Simply put, if Watford win all three of their remaining games, they will be promoted automatically.
A draw last night would arguably have been the best result for Watford, but the loss for Norwich means that Jokanovic’s men know that their destiny is in their own hands. Promotion races are rarely that simple, however.
Although the Hornets are working like a well-oiled machine right now, a quick look back on the last time Watford found themselves near the top of the league in the final run-in shows just how erratic form can be in the final fixtures. A loss to strugglers Barnsley in the penultimate match of the season meant that Hull City had to take the automatic promotion race to the final day, where, of course, they sealed their fate at Watford’s expense.
The right attitude is no doubt crucial at this point in the season, and so far the signs have been good from this Watford team, with their ability to come from behind and dig deep to grind out positive results. Let’s hope that come five o’clock today Watford find themselves still sat in the driving seat.
Vital Quotes:
Slavisa Jokanovic:
“It is not a moment to be relaxed. There is no space to be arrogant and no space not to arrive at games with humility and we have to try to find the best performance.
“We have had 42 games (now 43) and this is not the moment to relax; it is the time to move a step up and we have to concentrate, arrive to games with confidence and be ready for what we must do in the game. This is what I expect my team to do.
“If you relax in one moment then you can pay a very expensive price.
“I am not thinking about three wins. I am only thinking about one win against Birmingham. After that I can prepare for the next games.
“I do not try to do the mathematics [on how many points are needed]. It is normal that I am looking at the Championship table but I am only focused on what is in front of us, that is it.
“I am not thinking about taking nine points. I am only thinking about three against Birmingham.”
Read more here.
Gary Rowett:
‘We`ve got players that can come in to the team and strengthen and give us a little bit more energy should we decide to go down a different formation or different team.
‘We`ve got pretty much a clean bill of health and everyone is chomping at the bit to try and get in the team and play.
‘We might just tweak one or two things, whether that`s the formation or one or two different players in the starting line-up because I want to find a solution to our recent away form.
‘There are different ways we can go. We have got players who have played a lot this season and they are the obvious ones to come in.
‘But there’s still that little part of me in the back of my mind that there are still one or two things I need to learn before these last four games are out.
‘I don’t want to be experimental and change too much, but at the same time I can’t go through these next four games and know what I know now, I need to know a little bit more.
‘I need to know if certain players can play in certain positions and if certain players can be part of what we are doing going forward. There are different facets of my thinking in the last four games.
‘I think the hardest thing is you always want to win the game and in the back of my mind any changes you make always perhaps risk you not winning.
‘It’s going to be a very tough test, but I would say no tougher than Bournemouth and Derby away. We`ve had some tricky away games recently which has probably culminated in our form away from home not being as good, although we`ve played quite well in some spells in those games.
‘It`s really about piecing together 90 minutes away from home, that`s a little bit more what we would like. We`ve been very good in spells in the last two games at home and the key for us is to try and keep winning games and points and also keep the league table alive.
‘This game is self-motivating, which is the biggest thing. We`re not looking at a game like the Blackburn game where perhaps both teams haven`t got any promotion or relegation fears to worry about. We want to go down there and see if we can shake up the promotion race and improve our away form and keep trying to pick points up for ourselves and finish where we want to finish.
‘It will be a good game to be part of and we know we are going to have to be at our very best.’
Read more here.
Watford wing back Juan Carlos Paredes:
“The most important thing now is that it depends on us.
“I think every one of us needs to be on the same level mentally for us to win our last three games. It`s important that we train well and then convert this onto the pitch.
“We have three games left to play and our focus must be 100 per cent on us, not on what other teams are going to do.
“The Premier League is something that I proposed to myself a long time ago that I always wanted to play in. I watched it on TV in Ecuador and it would be very significant in my career to play at that level.
“But we are not thinking about this right now. We are thinking about our next three games in the Championship. As I said, everything depends on us, and this is the most important thing.”
Read more here.
Watford Team News:
Fernando Forestieri is available for selection following a month on the sidelines with a knee injury sustained in training.
Defender and midweek goalscorer Matthew Connolly is a doubt however, due to a tight hamstring picked up at Nottingham Forest on Wednesday.
Joel Ekstrand and Sean Murray will both watch from the stands as they recover from their long-term knee injuries.
Player to watch: Troy Deeney
A Blues fan growing up, Troy Deeney has an impressive scoring record against Birmingham City. He makes no secret that he enjoys scoring against the team he still has a fondness for, and he will be looking to address his record against them this season, as he failed to net in the loss at St Andrews in November of last year.
Although Deeney looked frustrated with himself at times on Wednesday night against Nottingham Forest, he is the type of player to use this frustration to good effect in the next game, and so I am expecting a good performance from the 26-year-old.
Troy Deeney has been announced as making the shortlist for Championship Player of the Season, and is up against Middlesbrough’s Patrick Bamford and Ipswich’s Daryl Murphy. The 20-goal man has led Watford from the front as club captain throughout the season, and looks likely to win this year’s accolade.
Birmingham City Team News:
Blues loanees Diego Fabbrini and Lloyd Dyer are both ineligible to play against Watford, their parent club.
Other than this, Gary Rowett has full squad to choose from.
Player to watch: Demarai Gray
A tricky player who caused us problems in the return fixture at St Andrews, Demarai Gray is a hot prospect that may flourish today.
At just 18 years old, the winger has made his presence known in the second tier of English football, and should he play today the Watford back line will have to tread carefully when he is on the ball.
Vicarage Road…
Slavisa Jokanovic’s Watford have won seven of their last nine games at Vicarage Road.
Travel sickness…
Gary Rowett’s Birmingham have not won any of their last eight away games in all competitions. Their last win on the road was 3-2 at Blyth Spartans in the FA Cup on 3 January.
