Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
Watford pair Miguel Britos and Jose Manuel Jurado returned to training on Thursday after leg and calf injuries respectively and could be involved.
January signing Costel Pantilimon made his debut in the last round and is in line for his second start in goal.
Leeds striker Chris Wood remains a major doubt and is unlikely to recover from a hamstring injury in time.
However, full-back Gaetano Berardi could make his first appearance since December after an ankle problem.
Editor’s Note: Watford’s return to the Premier League has been an impressive one so far with them all but assured of safety for next season they will now look to try and add some silverware for a perfect end to the campaign.
Last time out they came from behind to beat Crystal Palace away from home, a win that sees them move back into the top half of the table in the relative comfort of 9th. Their post Christmas slump has probably undone any aspirations of qualifying for Europe through the League but there’s no reason as to why they can’t go all the way in this seasons F.A. Cup
In the competition they have so far beaten Newcastle at home and then Nottingham Forest on their travels in the previous round so it hasn’t been the easiest route but they haven’t made to work too hard on their road to Wembley.
Today they face a Leeds side who seemed more concerned about how many times they are on T.V. as of late., thankfully for them this game isn’t being picked up by either BBC or BT Sport and is a rare Saturday 3pm Kick Off.
Manager Steve Evans is probably best known in Cup circles for taking Non-League Crawley Town to Manchester United , 5 years ago this Weekend. It’s not quite Old Trafford this Afternoon but like in 2011 Steve Evans will be trying to mastermind a potential Cup upset. His Crawley side were a lick of paint from taking United back to the Broadfield Stadium as Richard Brodie’s header looped onto the crossbar can Leeds go one better in the 5th Round today.
Leeds currently sit 16th in The Championship and you would have thought they will be safe enough this season, considering there is an 11 point gap between them and the dropzone they are going to have to have a pretty awful last quarter of the season for League One to be a reality next season.
With both sides pretty much secure in their respective divisions I would expect both Watford and Leeds to have a real crack at this and Leeds will want to try and get a Premier League scalp in front of their army of traveling fans.
I think Watford’s Premier League level of talent will more than likely shine through with Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo set to be the usual handful Today. That for me will be the difference and I can see The Hornets edging this and moving into the 6th Round.
