Dropping points away to Swansea last weekend meant that Crystal Palace are still searching for their first league victory of 2016.
The last time they collected three points came way back in mid-December when they defeated Mark Hughes’ Stoke City 2-1 at the Britannia Stadium.
The draw with the Swans did, however, bring an end to a five-game losing streak for the Eagles, meaning they should go into this weekend's home game with Watford with a little more confidence.
A positive for manager Alan Pardew is that Yannick Bolasie and Bakary Sako are nearing a first team return.
“The better news for us comes probably next week when Bolasie and Sako should be back”, he told the club's website. “They’re both running at the moment and they’re very close, so much better news for us, particularly offensively.
Palace currently lie 12th in the table, a point behind Saturday’s opponents Watford.
Team News
Palace could welcome Dwight Gayle back to the match day squad after he recovered from a hamstring injury that has kept him out since December.
Connor Wickham will also be back for the home side after serving a three-match ban for elbowing Tottenham’s Jan Vertonghen.
Pardew confirmed that Emmanuel Adebayor will make his full home debut against the Hornets, after completely 86 minutes in the draw at Swansea and coming on in the 58th minute against Bournemouth the week before.
Watford
The Hornets have enjoyed a successful return to the Premier League this season, lying in 10th place and far away from the fight against relegation.
After bringing in 13 players in the summer, manager Quique Sanchez Flores has managed to gel his players into a team worthy of their Premier League status.
December and January, however, were tough months for Watford, as they won one of the six league matches after they beat Liverpool 3-0. February hasn’t begun fantastically either, with the Hornets drawing to Chelsea and losing 1-0 away at Tottenham last time out.
Flores isn’t too worried though about his side dip in form. “We maybe deserved to win two or three of them, but this is football,” he said in his press conference.
“We played twice against Chelsea and Tottenham and once against Manchester City we have to be realistic.”
Sanchez Flores will be hoping strikers Troy Deeney and Odin Ighalo can help turn their fortunes around. The pairing have been one of the success stories of the season, combining to score 20 of Watford’s 27 league goals.
Team News
Captain Troy Deeney is expected to return to the starting line-up, having only played a bit part in the defeat at White Hart Lane.
Uruguayan defender Miguel Britos is unlikely to be involved after picking up an injury last weekend.
When the two sides met at Vicarage Road earlier this season, the Eagles won 1-0 thanks to a Yohan Cabaye penalty.
Palace have the edge in league meetings between the two, winning 43 times compared to Watford’s 35.