The final day of the season is upon us, and Watford have it in their hands to clinch the Championship title against Stuart Gray’s Sheffield Wednesday. With Bournemouth trailing one point behind the Hornets at the top of the table, Slavisa Jokanovic’s men only have to match the Cherries’ result at Charlton today to lift the Championship trophy at two o’clock.
An unexpected couple of results saw the Hornets promoted a few hours after a very hard-fought 2-0 win away at Brighton and Hove Albion last Saturday. Although celebrations were raucous – and in true Watford FC style shared with the community with the squad heading out in to the town centre to toast their Premiership status – the job is not done yet.
Jokanovic has stressed that his aim is to go up as champions, and today’s match is far from a forgone conclusion. Sheffield Wednesday may have been defeated by a less than impressive Leeds side last weekend, but their recent exploits are not those of a team who will roll over easily. A last minute equaliser at Bournemouth gave Watford the upper hand in the title race just a fortnight ago, and Watford have to be wary of the Owls’ ability to get a positive result today.
Although they sit in 14th at the start of today’s round of fixtures, Stuart Gray’s side could finish as high as 10th come two o’clock today. As motivation goes, that’s not bad, given that it would be the best league position attained by the Yorkshire club in eight years.
With Sheffield Wednesday’s propensity to do well away from home – their away form is bettered by only six other clubs in the division (one being Watford) – Watford will need to be fully focused if they are to ensure that the title comes to Vicarage Road today.
Vital Quotes:
Fresh from being awarded Manager of the Month for April, Slavisa Jokanovic is keen to stress the rarity of the chance that his squad has today:
“Now we must make one step that is very important. We won the semi-final, and now in front of us is the final.
“We must be strong, we must be professional, we must believe in ourselves, and we must do everything to lift this silverware and to have a chance this Saturday afternoon.
“To have this chance happens maybe one time in every five or 10 years, or maybe some people don`t ever have the chance to lift the trophy.
“It is a very important game for us, it is important to be champions.
“This is the chance that we have in front of us and we must believe in our possibility, play with confidence and be ready to put our maximum into the next game.
“I am proud of my players, my staff and the people around me.
“I have not arrived here to win one individual award [April’s Manager of the Month], so this award is for me and for all the people that are around me.”
Read more here.
Hornets keeper Heurelho Gomes is happy with Watford’s recent defensive record, with four clean sheets in the last five games, but knows that the real prize is on offer later today:
“Of course I`m satisfied about the team and the teamwork, and the defence have been in great form at the right time as well.
“For me, the goalkeeper, to keep a clean sheet is very important, but for this whole scenario I prefer to give the credit to the boys.
“It`s a case of job done – that`s what I came here for. Before the season the owner spoke to me about the ambition of the club, and I felt very welcome from the first time I came to this family.
“It has been a great season, but of course we are not finished yet. Right now we have managed a great achievement, but finishing first place will be better.
“It`ll be great to do this in front of our home fans, and hopefully we can win this trophy for them.”
Read more here.
Owls boss Stuart Gray is aware of the importance of today’s game for his opposite number, but says there is belief amongst his squad that they can cause a big upset today:
“I`m sure it will be a good atmosphere but we can`t get involved in that, we just need to focus on our jobs.
“Our last game is against a Watford side full of quality and they deserve to be where they are but we will have a say whether they go up as champions.
“When we missed our chance against Bournemouth so late in the game, we still had that belief that we could go on and make it 2-2.
“We have a belief in the squad that we can get a result wherever we go. Even if we go one or two goals behind.
“We go until the final whistle and that is what I have instilled into my players.
“We`ve probably performed better against the bigger teams away from home but it`s important we respond after our last performance.
“They are a very good side and on a great run and they will want to go up as champions.
“We`re not an easy touch away from home, we`ll be playing on a good surface and we will go there looking to post a positive result.”
Read more here.
Watford Team News:
Lloyd Doyley has been ruled out of the last game of the season after it was revealed that the veteran one-club man requires neck surgery. Doyley’s contract is up in the summer, and many Watford fans have taken a keen interest in the player’s potential future, given his status at Vicarage Road. We wish him all the best with his recovery.
Crystal Palace loanee Alene Guedioura cannot take part in the final game of the season,as the terms of his emergency loan mean that he is only entitled to be with the club for a total of 93 days. However, the Algerian international has continued training with the club in their preparations for today’s match, and will be watching the game from the stands.
Sean Murray and Joel Ekstrand are long-term absentees, both recovering from knee injuries.
Player to watch: Troy Deeney
At times it has looked like club captain Troy Deeney has been dragging this club towards the Premier League, with important performances in these last few games including several forays into our own half to win the ball back before bulldoze ring his way back up the pitch to win a last-minute corner or, in last week’s case, a stoppage time goal after squaring the ball to Vydra.
Deeney’s form has been fantastic all season, and the 21-goal man will be looking to finish on a high captaining a team of champions. I expect another starring role for the 26-year-old, and I suspect many other fans do too given the way he’s gone about his business this season.
Sheffield Wednesday Team News:
Sheffield Wednesday head coach Stuart Gray has no fresh injury concerns.
Midfielder Filipe Melo (foot) and defenders Glenn Loovens (hamstring) and Kamil Zayatte (cheekbone) are out, while striker Will Keane could start after returning from injury last week.
Lewis McGugan, who is on loan to the Yorkshire club from Watford, cannot face his parent club today and so will watch from the stands.
Player to watch: Kieran Lee
The central midfielder who can also play as a full back has scored a few important goals in recent weeks, including the winner against promotion-chasing Brentford and Sheffield Wednesday’s first goal two weeks ago at Bournemouth. A knack for scoring in important games should not be ignored, and a tall frame and strength in the air could cause the Watford defence problems from set pieces.
His contribution to the team however is far from one-dimensional, and his ability to break up play could be very important given Watford’s desire to open up opposition defences from midfield.
A message from Troy Deeney
Our thoughts are with Nic Cruwys
‘I think in all the jubilations of going up there has not been a mention about Nic for a while. That for us was our turning point in the season.
“We hear he is on the mend so hopefully he can be seeing us next season and I think that is a point no-one has made for a while.”
Ref Watch:
Lee Probert will take charge of today’s game. You can read more about the man in the middle here.
Most Watford fans will remember the last time Probert took charge of a Hornets game, on the south coast against AFC Bournemouth.
Probert sent off defender Gabriele Angella for a challenge committed less than half a minute into the game. Angella’s red card was rescinded days after the match, after it was decided that Angella’s mistimed tackle, which took place around 35 yards from the Watford goal, alongside fellow defender Craig Cathcart, did not deny a clear goalscoring opportunity.
A message from Roy Moore
Founder of The 1881 Movement Roy Moore says he wants Watford to have the best supporters in the country
The 1881 are urging fans to arrive at the stadium at around 10am and line both Vicarage Road and Occupation Road as the Watford team coach arrives.
Following this, fans, especially those sat in the Rookery, are advised to be in their seats by noon today ahead of the 12:15 kick off, as there is an all-Rookery foil display arranged to be held up by supporters.
‘We want Watford to have the best fans in the country, which has been our aim from the start. We`re not there yet but we are a lot closer,’ Roy Moor told the Watford Observer.
“It is not just down to me though. More and more people are helping us and we`ll have 60 people arriving at Vicarage Road at 8.45am on Saturday to lay out the foil.”
Be in your seats early to see or take part in the foil display, the content of which is still unknown to the majority of fans.
