Two sides fighting at opposite ends of the Championship table will do battle on Saturday, as Watford welcome Blackpool to Vicarage Road.
The hosts remained fourth after an important victory away at Norwich City in their last league outing, while the visitors find themselves in the bottom three but just a single point adrift of safety and travel on the back of an eye-catching FA Cup win.
Match preview
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In their aim to make an immediate return to the Premier League this season, Watford have experienced a somewhat mixed first half to the term, often failing to establish runs of consistency, and such an issue has been apparent since their return from the World Cup break.
Slaven Bilic's men returned to action at home to Hull City and only managed to take a point from a disappointing goalless stalemate, before putting their 10th league win of the season on the board as Joao Pedro hit both goals in a 2-0 triumph away at Huddersfield Town.
The Hornets set out to build on that result and move closer to Burnley and Sheffield United in the automatic promotion spots, but they were unable to do so, suffering 2-0 and 4-0 defeats at the hands of Millwall and Swansea City respectively before again bouncing back in impressive fashion in their first game of the new year, as Vakoun Issouf Bayo found the net in the dying minutes of their trip to Norwich City to seal a 1-0 victory.
Bilic's men head into the weekend on the back of an unsuccessful FA Cup third-round tie, as Reading condemned them to a 2-0 defeat with Kelvin Abrefa and Shane Long on the scoresheet, with their focus now fully on the fight at the top end of England's second tier.
Only leading seventh-placed Luton Town by a single point and with an 11-point gap up to the top two, Watford will see it as crucial that they build a winning run and put a second straight three-point haul on the board on Saturday.
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They welcome a Blackpool side who will aim to build on an impressive FA Cup win and climb out of the relegation zone on Saturday after a tough first half to the season.
The Tangerines headed into the World Cup break in the relegation zone and on the back of four straight Championship defeats, and they have been unable to correct their league form since the restart, with their winless run now standing at nine matches in England's second tier.
Michael Appleton's side have, at least, managed four draws out of their last five league games, though, firstly taking points from contests against Birmingham City, Cardiff City and Hull City, before suffering a narrow defeat at home to second-placed Sheffield United and drawing 1-1 with Sunderland in their first game of the new year, with Shayne Lavery's opener cancelled out by a Ross Stewart equaliser soon after the hour mark.
They would then host Premier League outfit Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup third round on Saturday and prevail in impressive fashion, booking a trip to Southampton in the next round as Marvin Ekpiteta, Ian Poveda, CJ Hamilton and Jerry Yates all got on the scoresheet to put their side 4-0 up before Ryan Yates netted an injury-time consolation goal for the visitors.
Having at least cut the gap to 21st-placed to Rotherham United to a single point, and with some renewed confidence potentially in the camp thanks to their cup win and January business thus far, the Tangerines will aim to leap out of the bottom three with what would be an eye-catching result in a difficult trip down to Vicarage Road.
Team News
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Bilic and Watford are dealing with an injury crisis at Vicarage Road, only worsened by defender Hassane Kamara's ongoing suspension after being shown his second red card of the season against Millwall, as the likes of Christian Kabasele, Joao Pedro, Samuel Kalu, Ken Sema, Kourtney Hause, Keinan Davis and Rey Manaj are also set to continue spells on the sidelines.
It is in midfield where their ranks have been hit the most, with Hamza Choudhury, Edo Kayembe, Tom Dele-Bashiru, Tom Cleverley, Imran Louza and Dan Gosling all in the treatment room, while Leandro Bacuna was also forced off in their cup tie at the weekend, meaning full-back Mario Gaspar may have to play a makeshift role alongside January signing Ismael Kone in the engine room.
In the absence of key forward Pedro, Vakoun Issouf Bayo should again lead the line, with plenty of attacking responsibility bound to fall on Ismaila Sarr, who has contributed six goals and four assists in 21 Championship appearances so far this term.
Blackpool have several issues of their own to deal with, as Lewis Fiorini, Liam Bridcutt, Luke Garbutt, Keshi Anderson and Jordan Gabriel are all likely to be ruled out again through injuries, while Callum Connolly is suspended after being sent off in their draw with Sunderland.
Forward Gary Madine was left out of the squad for the Nottingham Forest contest as a precaution after picking up a groin issue, but he could return to lead the line alongside Jerry Yates on Saturday, while Josh Bowler could make a return from the outset, having signed back on loan at the beginning of January after departing for Nottingham Forest earlier in the season.
Fellow new arrival Morgan Rogers will also be vying to start on the flanks, having joined on loan from Manchester City, while Tom Trybull has signed to offer more options in the engine room and may also earn his first Tangerines start at the weekend.
Watford possible starting lineup:
Bachmann; Troost-Ekong, Cathcart, Sierralta; Ngakia, Gaspar, Kone, Morris; Sarr, Bayo, Asprilla
Blackpool possible starting lineup:
Maxwell; Lyons, Ekpiteta, Thorniley, Husband; Bowler, Trybull, Carey, Poveda; Madine, Yates
We say: Watford 1-1 Blackpool
Watford are badly hit by injuries and lacking consistency recently, while Blackpool will arrive with a degree of renewed optimism and will likely see Saturday as a good time to play this Hornets side.
We fancy the Tangerines to galvanise and return to Lancashire with a commendable point at the weekend in their bid to climb out of the drop zone.
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Top tip
Sam Varley
