Arsenal's defence of their FA Cup crown will continue this weekend when they host Watford at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

The Gunners have won the competition in both of the past two seasons and are bidding to become the first team to lift the trophy three years in a row since the 1880s.

Arsenal

© Getty Images

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has a difficult balance to strike over the coming weeks in terms of which competition to prioritise.

As things stand, the Gunners are the only club still in with a shout of winning the treble, although that accolade, by Wenger's own admission, is "95%" certain to be taken from them when they face Barcelona at the Camp Nou on Wednesday.

With a 2-0 first-leg deficit in that tie, the Champions League can be more or less discounted, but Wenger is refusing to give up on the Premier League title race.

However, the gap to leaders Leicester City is eight points and, with just nine matches of the season remaining, it is a big ask for them to not only make that up, but also beat Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City in the race too.

Indeed, Arsenal's place in the top four is by no means guaranteed yet. They currently sit third in the table, but Man City could move above the Gunners should they win their game in hand while West Ham United are just three adrift of Wenger's side.

In terms of silverware, though, the FA Cup appears to be their best bet now. No team has lifted the trophy more often than Arsenal and victory this weekend would see them progress to a 16th straight round in the competition - an all-time record they already jointly hold.

Things weren't particularly straightforward in the last round, though. After wins over Sunderland and Burnley to reach the last 16, the Gunners were held to a stalemate by Championship outfit Hull City at the Emirates, forcing a replay at the KC Stadium earlier this week.

It looked to be a tricky assignment against a side flying high in the second tier and with only one defeat at home all season, but Arsenal put in a clinical display to run out 4-0 winners, with braces for both Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott.

Aside from sending them through to the quarter-finals, that victory also ended Arsenal's damaging five-match winless streak, although it did come at a cost, with Per Mertesacker, Gabriel Paulista and Aaron Ramsey all coming off with injuries.

It could be a makeshift defence that comes up against the likes of Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney, then, and Watford will be even more encouraged by Arsenal's recent home form - they have won just one of their last five at the Emirates, and defeat this weekend would condemn them to three in a row in front of their own fans for the first time this century.

They have been fortunate with a large proportion of recent FA Cup ties coming at the Emirates, though, and they are unbeaten in their last nine home outings in this competition.

Recent form: WWDW
Recent form (all competitions): DLLLDW

Watford

© Getty Images

While Arsenal have been here and done it all before in the FA Cup, for Watford this is relatively new ground.

They have made the quarter-finals of this competition just nine times in the past and have never gone all the way, coming closest when they were beaten by Everton in the 1984 final.

Many will feel that this season is their best chance of lifting what would be their first ever major piece of silverware since those glory days under Graham Taylor, and with Premier League survival all but in the bag, Quique Flores can turn his full attention to reaching Wembley.

The Hornets may not fully relax until they are mathematically safe having never before avoided relegation in a Premier League season, but with 13 points separating from the bottom three they can be reasonably certain that they will be plying their trade in the top flight again next year.

It has already been one of their best seasons in recent times, then, and success in the FA Cup could well catapult it to among their best ever campaigns, so there is a major motive for Watford to throw everything into the competition.

Their form has tailed off in recent months, though. A victory over Liverpool in their final game before Christmas left them just one point adrift of the Champions League places, but they have managed just two wins from 12 league games since to sink into the bottom half.

They have failed to even score in the last three games, and while Ighalo and Deeney provided 19 goals between them before the turn of the year, they have provided just five so far in 2016.

There will be particular concern away from home, where Watford have won just one of their last six league games and have failed to score in four of their last five, losing all four of those matches.

Goals have also been scarce in this competition, but Watford have managed to squeeze through each round so far, beating Newcastle United, Nottingham Forest and Leeds United all by a 1-0 scoreline to reach the quarter-finals.

Recent form: WWW
Recent form (all competitions): LWWDLL

Team News

© Getty Images

Arsenal's injury woes went from bad to worse at the KC Stadium on Tuesday, but Mertesacker and Gabriel are expected to be fit for this weekend despite their early departures against Hull.

Laurent Koscielny is also nearing a return, although his participation is less likely as he continues to recover from a calf injury.

Petr Cech is currently suffering from a similar problem and will miss out again, joining Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere, Tomas Rosicky, Mikel Arteta and Ramsey on the sidelines.

Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez were both rested in midweek, and Wenger may opt to leave the duo on the bench once more with Barcelona to come on Wednesday.

Watford will give a late fitness test to Craig Cathcart following a recent calf injury, while Joel Ekstrand is a week or so away from returning.

Miguel Britos is another doubt due to a knock, but Jose Jurado, Rene Gilmartin and Tommie Hoban are definitely out.

Arsenal possible starting lineup:
Ospina; Chambers, Mertesacker, Gabriel, Gibbs; Elneny, Coquelin, Campbell, Iwobi, Walcott; Giroud

Watford possible starting lineup:
Pantilimon; Nyom, Prodl, Britos, Holebas; Amrabat, Abdi, Behrami, Capoue; Deeney, Ighalo

Head To Head

Arsenal have won each of the last six meetings between these two sides in all competitions, including a 3-0 triumph at Vicarage Road in October.

Watford's last victory over Arsenal came at Highbury in 1988, and their only previous visit to the Emirates Stadium saw them beaten 3-0 in 2006.

The two sides have met five times in the FA Cup down the years, with Arsenal winning four of those, including a 4-2 triumph in their most recent cup clash in 2002.

The Dugout Podcast

Hit play below to listen to Sports Mole's new podcast 'The Dugout' for our take on the week's biggest football talking points:

We say: Arsenal 2-0 Watford

The visitors will be up for this game and have already shown this season that they are capable of victories over the bigger teams, but Arsenal are unstoppable in the FA Cup right now, and they can't really afford to lose the game. The home advantage could prove to be key, and that gives Arsenal the edge.

Previews by email