If there was ever a game where Quique Sanchez Flores' Watford could really announce themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the Premier League, this is it. An in-form Tottenham Hotspur wait at White Hart Lane, a title challenge on the cards and bristling with confidence. The Hornets will look to put a sting in Spurs' title aspirations.
Punching above their weight
After a disappointing string of league defeats - which included a 2-1 defeat against Mauricio Pochettino's side back in December, with further losses against Manchester City, Southampton and Swansea City - Watford seem to have got themselves back on firmer ground.
Unbeaten in three, Watford have dispatched Newcastle United, put Nottingham Forest out of the FA Cup, and earned a hard-fought point against last year's Premier League champions Chelsea on Wednesday night. Their manager now believes his side can kick on and show how "competitive" they are against high-flying Spurs.
It has to be said: why ever not? Watford have repeatedly proven themselves to be a class above the critics' expectations of relegation at the end of this campaign, causing some impressive shocks in the process. They comfortably dispatched Liverpool 3-0 in December and indeed sit just one point adrift of Jurgen Klopp's side in the table - a sign that Flores' players can mix it with some of English football's best teams.
Tearing up the script
Watford, like a number of other teams - such as Leicester City and West Ham United - have breathed new life into a league that had, admittedly, become a little stale. No longer are the 'elite' clubs comfortable with a visit to Bournemouth, or indeed a trip to Vicarage Road - and in a season of bewildering results the Hornets have managed to carve themselves a slice of the action.
Flores' players work hard every game and it may be that before the season ends they will fall away into mid-table obscurity, but it bears repeating that if they did so, it would be very impressive result. But enough of that: Watford are looking only up, ambitious with a refusal to accept that they can't go any higher. Three points against a Tottenham side in full flow on Saturday might just show the Hornets' signal of intent, but Flores knows will know that the odds are stacked against them.
Pochettino's Spurs are desperate to throw off the tag of the "nearly men" and go one step further than finishing in the top four and settling for the European places. Now, in a season where no team seems to be pulling away from the rest, Tottenham might just have their best chance to capture the Premier League title.
There's no doubt about it: Tottenham are in a rich vein of form. They have won their last five games and are unbeaten in 11 - a run that includes their 2-1 victory over Watford last time the two sides met. At the moment, Spurs sit five points adrift of Leicester and would be in a good position to capitalise should the Foxes' stunning title charge start to fall away.
But first: the present. Pochettino, as calm and collected as ever, must dispatch Flores' Hornets when they visit White Hart Lane on Saturday, or else face a familiar rebuke. Spurs should have enough to take all three points, but stranger things have happened.
Watford lurk, competitive and ready, should Tottenham slip.