Fresh from Friday nights defeat, we are on the road to Watford, will Elton be there, one thing for sure the destroyer of the Hornet's twice last season, Osmajuic won't, also captain Whiteman is suspended. Who is going to win the ball in midField, I hear you say, well er probably no one. Bit stretched squad wise at the moment but that's the way the croissant crumbles anyway.(10cc lyrics) https://www.watfordfc.com/ MANAGER Javier "Javi" Gracia Carlos (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈxaβiˈɣɾaθja];[a] born 1 May 1970) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a defensive midfielder. He is currently the head coach of EFL Championship club Watford. He totalled 430 matches across both major levels of Spanish football, in a 15-year professional career. After retiring he began working as a manager, going on to coach several clubs in Spain, Greece and Russia before being appointed at Watford in January 2018.[2] Gracia led Watford to their second FA Cup final in their history in 2019, but was sacked later the same year.[3] From June 2020 to May 2021 he worked with Valencia, and a year later he won the Qatar Stars League during a brief spell at Al Sadd before managing Leeds United for three months in 2023. please log in to view this image FORM GUIDE please log in to view this image MYSTICS MACS FORM RATING HORNETS 11 PNE 13 Hornets good attacking side although they appear to be a bit suspect at the back, especially at dead balls, let in 10, moral, don't let your balls die Hot shots and newbies please log in to view this image OTHER CHAMPO FIXTURES please log in to view this image please log in to view this image PNE play the first part of an away double-header on Tuesday as they face Watford at Vicarage Road. Team News please log in to view this image Harrison Armstrong, who missed Friday’s Lancashire derby with a groin issue, is progressing well but manager Paul Heckingbottom is not prepared to risk the midfielder unless he is 100% ready. Pol Valentín and Will Keane both returned to the matchday squad last time out after spells on the sidelines and they’ll be hoping to get some game time in this one. North End are still without Ali McCann, Andrija Vukčević, Brad Potts, Lewis Gibson, Robbie Brady and Theo Carroll. The Hosts please log in to view this image Watford head into Tuesday following a terrific away victory over Derby County at the weekend, as they scored three goals in the final half-hour to overturn a two-goal deficit. The Hornets have seen an upturn in form since a change of management, with Tom Cleverley being replaced by Javi Gracia, who had a previous spell at Vicarage Road between 2018 and 2019. They’re unbeaten in their last four and sit just two points outside of the top six heading into this round of fixtures. Match Officials please log in to view this image Referee: James Bell Assistant Referees: Matthew Smith and Shaun Hudson Fourth Official: James Linington James Bell will referee this fixture. Incidentally, the last time he was the main official for a PNE match was for the Gentry Day fixture at Vicarage Road in April 2024. So far this season, Bell has shown 30 yellow cards in eight matches. We’ve Met Before Milutin Osmajić’s brace earned Preston North End a 2-1 victory at Vicarage Road back in January. WATFORD BUILDINGS please log in to view this image
please log in to view this image Attendance: 16,113 (515 PNE fans). Referee: James Bell. 515 Away fans, out of my brain on the 5.15 Personal view, good point against a decent side, with our slightly understrength side. Thompson playing his first 60 mintes of the season and the return of Pol for the last 15 minutes. I like Vicarage Road, it's tight, the pitch is top notch, also the kit is a throwback to Valencia in the 1980's. The graveyard was shut, always intersting places to visit whilst alive!!!! only thing moving in their was a Fox. Fast start by the home side, early effort hit the post and the ball fell to Kjeerumgard with the keeper on the ground and no one within yards managed to miss with his first time effort by a country distance. Dobbin brought a decent save from Baxter and it was game on. The home side interchanging and passing was of course far better than ours is ever likely to be but lo and behold we take the lead, Dobbin robs Lousa advances 15 yards plays Jebbison in and he scores a Vicarage Road for the first time, which considering he played for them for 6 months was rather funny. please log in to view this image Watford fought back the left winger Maamma caused us problems, the free kick above sort of summed up the home sides shooting ability it went way over the top. Couple of good efforts from us but on the stroke of the break, Watford were level. They hit the post with an effort from the left and we never really cleared the ball, quick interchange of passes, Doumbia fired home with a deflection off Storey. Early doors second half, Lindsay header brought a good save from Baxter who tipped the effort onto the post, from that moment the game just started to die, very tactical with both sides seemingly wanting to play on the break, Watford worked themselves into several goal scoring positions but their final effort at goal were often woeful. Jebbison denied another by a great defensive block by Pollock and a late 70 yard run by Mads nearly got Small although he was flagged offside. Massive scare in the last minute, when Irankunda slalomed his way into the box before appearing to be fouled by Pol, now have not seen it back so cannot comment but the ref Mr Bell who in the main had a decent game booked him for diving. A mini tour of Derbyshire on the way home and please note Sandbach services is not open at 1 am HECK Paul Heckingbottom felt his side put in a good away performance at a “tough place” to go, as North End took a point from Vicarage Road. PNE opened the scoring against Watford in the 22nd minute as Daniel Jebbison – who previously spent time on loan with the hosts – finished off after being slotted in on goal by Lewis Dobbin. A first-half deflected strike from Mamadou Doumbia drew the hosts level, which ended up earning the hosts a point, despite Liam Lindsay being denied by the post in the second 45. Hecky said: “It's a tough place to come in terms of they’re really dangerous at home. Their home form generally throughout the years has been very good. “I think that's a lot to do with the type of players and the talent that they bring into the squad. It's a tough place to come, but we played well. We defended well and we always carried a threat going the other way as well. It’s a good away performance. “Especially in the first half, we had a few really good passages of play where we opened them up and we were disappointed to only be 1-0 really when they equalised. “We performed well and then we responded well because they had that little spell five minutes before they scored. But we were still defending our box pretty well, to be fair. They looked more of a threat if they could counter on us. “The players were good at half-time. We wanted more of the same and we started the second half on the front foot really well again, and then as the half wore on, we had to defend our box, which we did very, very well, but we always carried a threat going the other way.” North End did have the woodwork to thank on two occasions, with the second of those coming right before Watford's equaliser when Marc Bola saw an outrageous effort strike the woodwork. Then, two minutes into the second half, Lindsay was also denied by the post as goalkeeper Nathan Baxter somehow got a touch to the defender's header. As it was, the points were shared, and North End were applauded for their efforts by 515 PNE supporters at the end of the night, who were in fine voice all evening at Vicarage Road. Hecky said: “They respond to the lads’ performance and they certainly made noise when we were playing really good football and cutting through them. You could hear them and it's always a good sign that as away fans, you know you're playing well. “And then as always we need them at the end. I think they would have been even noisier if we were defending the goal in front of them when they're at the other side of the pitch they're probably as anxious as Macca [Stuart McCall] is stood here in the box. Our following has been great home and away and we want to make sure we keep that.” JAVI Javi Gracia said his side need to take advantage of their moments on top after having to settle for a draw against Preston. The Hornets are unbeaten in five Sky Bet Championship matches but could not make it back-to-back wins after the away victory at Derby County on Saturday. “We have to be disappointed as all of us wanted the three points after winning away,” Gracia said. “The second half was better in my opinion with more control, more chances and more possession in the opposite half. “These moments when you feel you have the momentum to win, you have to do it. “We had more chances and we have to try to be more clinical and take these chances. “This way you can manage the game in another way, without that pressure to score a goal. “These situations we can improve. We are improving, we are being more solid, being more aggressive, more consistent, but we need to improve even more.” Watford are yet to win two games in a row this season so this is a clear target for Gracia going forward. please log in to view this image “There are many good things but in this moment it’s not enough to get good results in a row,” the Spaniard added. “We are ambitious and we are not happy to win the last game and then get a draw. It’s not enough for us.” Othmane Maamma made his first home start for the Hornets and was a notable plus point with his dribbles, trickery and tracking back. “He had a very good performance and he showed the quality he has,” Gracia said. “He is a young player and he needs to improve, of course. But he played at a good level today.” Another positive was Giorgi Chakvetadze’s introduction from the bench as the Georgian played his first football since April after a long-term injury. “When I put Giorgi on the list, I knew he could only help us for 15, 20 minutes,” the Head Coach said. “He’s not ready to play more, he needs time after coming back from a long period out. “He needs to be patient and work the way he is doing, but everybody knows he has high quality and I’m really happy for him.”
