So after such a massive effort Monday night with ten men which merited no reward for us points wise but a rousing reception from the crowd at fulltime, we are back in Premiership action against this seasons cannon fodder side Huddersfield. Already relegated a few weeks ago they have seemingly bucked the trend of playing well after being relegated and are just as bad now as they have been all season. Getting battered in their previous few home games does give me cause for concern however. We showed we can deal with these types of banana skin games against Fulham (H) and Cardiff (A) so there is no real cause that we can't pick up anything other than three points. We are still in the race for seventh despite the loss to a very poor Arsenal side as all other results went our way. Put a performance like that in and we are certain to win. As for team news, with Troy suspended (unless it gets overturned?) it looks like Gray on his own up front unless he is partnered by everybody's go to guy Success. That would of course mean a change in formation and most likely Gracia may play Delafoo as a false No. 9 again. I would expect Masina to start - he impressed so much against Arsenal and with Holebas out it looks like Kabs and Cathcart which is generally first choice. Midfield I would go with Capoue, Hughes and Bobby - shame Quina is injured he would be a good fit. It looks like it will be the same team with a bit of a switch that played Arsenal. In goal? Foster. Yes he made a mistake but he is human and did apologise to the team and fans, credit to him for knowing it is something he will learn from and I respect that. Is this a must win? I would say so yes. We play our game in hand afterwards at home to Southampton so a win here and against them would really tighten our grip (of course other results withstanding). My prediction: Huddersfield 0 Watford 3
It’s a big 8 days with Huddersfield, Southampton and Wolves, 7 points would probably be enough to see us to 7th place, 5 and it’ll be squeaky bum time last game of season v West Ham. Anything less and we may well have blown it. FA Cup win is by far the bigger and better achievement, but it’s against a side with a 90% win rate this season. 7th feels more achievable so to me this is a huge game. Strongest team possible, based on fitness and knocks and then re-assess for Southampton.
Must win game if we are serious about 7th place, against an already relegated bunch of no-hopers. 2-0 HTFC. Ince to score even though he doesn't play for them anymore.
Let's be honest, they are absolutely terrible, they are already down, they will have no genuine motivation to win any of their remaining game unlike us, so it goes without saying that we've already lost this 1-0.
We need to see Success take his chance. He was decent in early season cup games , looked unplayable at times .
Our task is very simple. Need to beat Huddersfield, Southampton, Wolves and West Ham. I'm certain Wolves will get 6 points in their next two games. I don't think Everton or Leicester will be in the running.
Yup , Leicester defo out due to their run in. Everton possibly in the mix. Beating Wolves is the main target . We ve had practice at it so far . Am expecting the same .
Can see us struggling here if both Pereyra and Gerry are still crocked. If so who comes in? Sema and Success? Shame we have our extra game this coming week, not helping our chances
Gomes Hodson Griffiths Bennett Harley Diangoura Cowie Mceachran Iwelumo Garner Hoskins Should be good enough to win this.
You can never underestimate a Javi Gracia side. The loss of Deeney, with question marks over the fitness of Pereyra and Deulofeu could be telling. All being equal we would most likely win, but going there without keys players could be a different story. As I said after Arsenal, a game we gifted to them, if we beat Huddersfield then the Arsenal result would matter quite so much. If we fail to win this, then the remainder of the season could unravel which would be a great shame, as it deserves to remain a "special" season. But Javi will look at it as just one match, 3 points, and nothing more. We have 5 league games remaining, all are winnable in my book (well maybe with the exception of Chelsea), so I do expect 12 points from our remaining fixtures.
Agreed. We win this game, we might finish 7th. We lose it, we might not finish 7th. If we draw, all bets are off.
Hope we don't feck it up, it's great to still have something to play for this deep into the season for the first time in a few years. Gray masterclass in scoring against championship opposition incoming hopefully.
Individual players (or at least some of them) might feel they need to showcase themselves to other PL teams.
