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WATFORD v TRANMERE ROVERS
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Vicarage Road Stadium
Date: Saturday 4th January 2020
Kick Off: 1501 GMT
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FA CUP Third Round
A few weeks ago this fixture might’ve looked like a real worry for Watford as they sit bottom of the Premier League with just one win all season but the appointment of Nigel Pearson has reinvigorated their season with the Hertfordshire side winning three of the last four games and scoring eight goals in that time. Whilst they remain in the relegation zone they are in a much healthier position and will be keen to add a cup win to their recent form.
Watford were averaging 0.5 goals per game before Pearson joined the club, showing just how far they’ve come in a short space of time and they’ve also been able to improve defensively, conceding just two goals in their past four, compared to the 30 in 17 prior to their good run of form. They will be much more confident of avoiding the embarrassment of a cup defeat to a team in League One and will be confident of ending the weekend in the pot for the fourth round.
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Tranmere haven’t enjoyed a successful season so far, winning just five games this season and struggling to get out of the League One relegation zone in recent weeks. They’ve picked up just one win in their last eight games and haven’t been able to win consecutive games at all this season. They’ve scored a decent amount, 1.17 goals per game on average, but have really struggling in defence, conceding 43 goals which translates to just under 2 goals a game.
The FA Cup hasn’t been too kind to Tranmere recently with the club losing 7-0 to Tottenham in the fourth round last season. They needed a replay to beat Southport in the third round and haven’t had much success in the years preceding that game either. A cup run, whilst being welcome financially, means the club run the risk of losing sight of their relegation plight and there are many reasons that the side would be better off on the losing end of the game this weekend.
Team News:
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Craig Shakespeare insists Watford will be competitive in the FA Cup and aim to put together another run in the competition.
"We'll do the same analysis as we've done against all the previous teams since we've been here," said Shakespeare about Watford's preparation.
"We make sure that they're focused and that they know as players that we're not taking them lightly and then it's up to us to prepare them which we'll do again tomorrow. We'll go through the same preparation as we've done in the previous games and they will be ready."
We know that some of the fringe players will get some game time, but as yet no information about who will be given the chance to shine.
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