Both sides will be hoping to get back to winning ways after losing their last two as Watford welcome Huddersfield Town to Vicarage Road on Saturday.
Watford currently sit sixth in the EFL Championship going into this weekend and have a one-point gap between themselves and seventh-placed Middlesbrough.
The Hornets have won just five of their last 14 games, but they currently hold the league’s best home record, losing just once and seeing themselves on the winning side on eight occasions in 11 fixtures.
Huddersfield have struggled away from home this campaign, last tasting victory on October 31, which was only one of two victories on the road this season.
Town are currently 13th in the division and can move as high as ninth should they complete the double over their opponents at the weekend.
The Terriers have been victorious on four occasions in their last six meetings with Watford.
Team news
Tom Dele-Bashiru, Domingos Quina and Issac Success all remain on the injury list ahead of this fixture.
It is also unlikely that both Christian Kabasele and Glenn Murray will feature against Huddersfield.
Craig Cathcart has returned to training, but this game comes too soon for his return.
Creative midfielder Carel Eiting will be out for three to four months after having surgery on his knee.
Isaac Mbenza will also miss the trip to Watford as he continues his self-isolation period, despite testing negative.
Naby Sarr and Richard Stearman are also out with injury, as is new signing Danny Grant, who is now out for four to six weeks after he ‘felt something’ before their FA Cup fixture last weekend.
Alex Pritchard and Adama Diakhaby returned to training, however, Saturday’s game will be too early for them to make a return.
Danny Ward may also return to the squad after returning to training after a reoccurring hamstring injury.
Rolando Aarons could also be in line to make his full debut after joining the club from Newcastle United.
Predicted Line-ups
Watford (4-4-2):
Foster; Navarro, Troost-Ekong, Sierralta, Ngakia; Sarr, Chalobah, Hughes, Zinckernagel; Pedro, Deeney.
Huddersfield Town (3-5-2):
Schofield; Edmonds-Green, Vallejo, Crichlow; Pipa, High, Hogg, O’Brien, Toffolo; Campbell, Bacuna.
Form Guide
New manager Xisco Muñoz has not had the easiest of starts in the Watford hot seat, having to face Norwich City, Swansea City and Manchester United in his opening three games.
Although he got off the mark with a 1-0 win over the Canaries, he lost his next two games 2-1 and 1-0 respectively.
With increased expectations on the new boss, Xisco will be hoping for a victory to remain in the promotion hunt.
The Terriers have also suffered two defeats in their last two games.
Before back-to-back losses against Reading and Plymouth Argyle, which saw many of the club’s B Team and Under-19s get a deserved outing in the FA Cup, Town defeated Blackburn Rovers in their last fixture of 2020.
Sarr put his side ahead of 53 minutes as he steered home a guided header past the ‘keeper.
Sam Gallagher thought he had stolen a late point for Rovers as he tucked home from Ryan Schofield’s initial save, however, Sarr won the game in the 90th minute with a well-placed finish in the area.
Ones to watch
Watford – Ben Foster
The ‘Cycling GK’ will be hoping to put in a good performance for his side - and GoPro - and amend the mistake he made last time these two met in December.
Ben Foster has been an important figure for the Hornets since he arrived in 2018.
The goalkeeper makes an average of 2.1 saves per game, with 1.4 of those saves coming inside the penalty area.
Huddersfield Town – Rarmani Edmonds-Green
Rarmani Edmonds-Green has been a consistent performer for the Terriers since cementing a starting place from the club’s B Team.
Edmonds-Green makes an average of 1.1 tackles and 1.9 clearances per game.
The defender also likes to play out from the back due to being technically gifted with the ball at his feet, maintaining a 75% pass succession rate, with a lot of these passes being cross-field balls into the channels.
He is a player with a bright future.
Previous meetings
The Terriers will be hoping to complete the double over Watford after being victorious over them the last time these two met.
Town took a ninth-minute lead as Mbenza’s persistence paid off as he closed down Foster, forcing him to scuff his clearance into the feet of the winger, who rolled the ball into the path of Fraizer Campbell for him to smash home the opener.
Etienne Capoue then gifted the Terriers a second as he sliced his clearance from a corner into the back of his own net.
Huddersfield saw out the rest of the game to claim a 2-0 win at the John Smith’s Stadium.
What the managers have said
Xisco praised his side’s work rate with how they are starting to adapt to his style.
“This is our way. I am very happy with the guys because they worked hard” he said, speaking after the FA Cup defeat.
“It is not easy to play like this but today is the first step. It is not enough, we need to work on little details and we need to continue.”
Town boss Carlos Corberán explained the changes that Watford have endured under his fellow Spaniard.
"Watford have changed their style in a short space of time,” he said, speaking to the Huddersfield Town website.
"Nowadays they are playing 4-4-2 in a clear shape; it is the perfect style for the players that Xisco has.
“That is why they have adapted very fast. They have players to be dangerous in the counter-attack.
“We have seen a high improvement in them.
“In these games, he has clear ideas. He has made Watford a more dangerous team and one team more complicated to win against.”
How to watch
The match is available on ‘iFollow’ through Watford and Huddersfield Town’s respective club websites, with match passes at £10 for those in the United Kingdom.