please log in to view this image Saturday 18th January 12.30pm Premier League Vicarage Road Another game of two halves took us through to the 4th round of the FA Cup and a trip to Southampton. Having taken a fairly early two goal lead it should've been over by half-time, but we don't do that, do we? Next up is a resurgent Watford side, who have turned their form around and are flying up the table. We seem to be facing a lot of sides that are playing well and confident, which isn't ideal given that we're not. Can Mourinho scrape together another result without a striker or will we come unstuck at Elton John's place? The Hornets started off this campaign with some hope, having reached the FA Cup final in the last one. A comfortable mid-table finish and holding on to their best players had many expecting them to kick on. They added Welbeck, Dawson and a few others and won all of their pre-season games, beating Ajax and Leverkusen. The reality was quite starkly different, as their league campaign started with a 3-0 home loss to Brighton. They failed to win any of their first 11 league games and only won one of their first 17. Javi Gracia's reign came to an abrupt end after only 4 games and an old name replaced him immediately. Quique Sanchez Flores returned to the helm after a three year absence, but he failed to make a difference. A draw against Arsenal in his first match was followed by an 8-0 drubbing by City. He didn't even make it to Christmas, despite a solitary win at Norwich. 15 matches, two managers and 20th position prompted another revolution for the door at Vicarage Road. Nigel Pearson probably wasn't the first name on many people's lips for the hotseat, it's fair to say. He did a respectable job with Leicester, but his son's racist sex tape helped him out of that job. His short time at Derby was filled with controversy and he followed that up with a very strange appointment. Belgian 2nd tier side OH Leuven are owned by the King Power group, which may explain it. His two seasons there ended in February, as he was sacked again. Pearson's return to English football started with a couple of respectable, if not excellent, results. A draw with Palace was followed up by a 2-0 loss at Anfield, with the second goal coming in injury time. You could see a change in the side immediately and they beat Man Utd 2-0 in the next match. A draw with Sheffield Utd and three more wins has seen them rise out of the relegation zone. They even managed to beat Wolves and Villa despite having been reduced to ten men in both matches. This fixture was not one of our better performances of last season, despite coming early on in the list. Both sides had 100% records, having won their three opening games, but you wouldn't have guessed it. A flat, dull first half meant that it was goalless going into the break. Doucoure's bundled own goal after the restart should have seen us push on and build on it. It only seemed to upset the hosts though, who leveled and then lead from two set-piece headers: The home game this season was overshadowed by VAR controversy, which is becoming tediously normal. Doucoure gave the visitors a first half lead on the break, but then it all turned into a bit of a farce. Rose and Deulofeu both had good calls for penalties turned down, reviewed and the decisions upheld. Foster's ludicrous timewasting went unpunished, as usual and time ground to a halt, it seemed. Alli's late equaliser lead to more controversy, as the discussion turned to exactly where a shoulder starts: No updated injury news yet, but Davies, Lloris, Ndombele, Kane and Sissoko will miss out. Welbeck, Cleverly, Hughes, Prodl and Janmaat are out for the hosts, while Femenia is a major doubt. Kabasele returns after a two-match ban. Neither side has any suspensions. Lineups for each side's last league game: Spurs: Gazzaniga; Aurier, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Tanganga, Rose; Eriksen, Winks, Alli; Moura, Son. Subs: Vorm, Vertonghen, Sessegnon, Dier, Skipp, Lo Celso, Lamela. League form: WLWDLL. Watford: Foster; Mariappa, Dawson, Cathcart, Masina; Capoue, Chalobah; Sarr, Doucoure, Deulofeu; Deeney. Subs: Gomes, Holebas, Quina, Dele-Bashiru, Peyreyra, Success, Gray. League form: LWDWWW. Ref: Michael Oliver. VAR: Kevin Friend. TV: BT Sport 1. How would you like to line up for this one and what would you change from the Boro game? Would you stick with much of the same lineup, make a few changes or go for a wholesale switch? Which system and tactics would you use and what are you expecting Watford to go with?
Getting to tick another stadium off my list on Saturday. Only three left in the current Prem that I won’t have been too - Bournemouth, Brighton and West Ham’s new gaff. If he’s fit and ready, I hope Gedson starts straight away, anything’s better than Dier or Winks at the moment, even RCL would be!
Tottenham have not received a transfer bid for Christian Eriksen and the midfielder will play against Watford on Saturday, says manager Jose Mourinho.
Oh good........................... Probably, yet another ****ing chance for Dier, as well. Another defeat beckons.
Gazza Tanganaga Toby Sanchez Lamela Gedson Ndombele Sessegnon Lucas Lo Celso Son Alli on 2nd row of the bench Eriksen on couch at home COYS
Is it Verts or Tanganga on the left of defence this week? Remember how we were allowed to criticise Poch's selections for needing the Rosetta Stone to work out who was playing where? Just asking...