A fixture that could rocket Watford away from the danger zone, Tuesday’s tie at Villa Park is a six pointer if ever there were one.

As both outfits try and maintain their Premier League status, Aston Villa may well seek revenge – December’s 3-0 loss still fresh in the minds of those who were at Vicarage Road less than a month ago.

The Hornet’s are working hard in Hertfordshire to help the likes of Danny Welbeck and Kiko Femenía regain full fitness. Villa are the first team of four to face Nigel Pearson’s side in nine days (providing Watford are victorious against Tranmere in the FA Cup).

Luckily for the Golden Boys, they have momentum on their side. Watford entering the game six unbeaten in the league, Tom Cleverley’s former Villa team striving to make the eighth Premier League meeting between the two a worthwhile one.

Four points have been picked up by Dean Smith’s Villan’s this month, a positive home result tomorrow potentially lifting the West Midlanders to 16th if results elsewhere work in their favour. A loss and they are one place off rock bottom.

Alongside Jack Grealish, Watford’s captain Troy Deeney will wear the armband with the added responsibility of having grown up in Birmingham. Both managers were Midlands born and bred, the pressure of the late great Graham Taylor watching over adding extra significance to proceedings.

With neither side currently living up to their 80’s glory, one would imagine that to repeat it, top-flight survival is key. Watford may have put the first nail in Villa’s coffin 24 days ago, but will they do the same again?

Team news

Injury doubts still remain a concern for Watford – Ismaila Sarr, Daryl Janmaat and Sebastian Prodl will miss out.

Nearest to full fitness and potentially available for tomorrow is Danny Welbeck. Will Hughes, Tom Cleverly and Kiko Femenía are also close to making a return.

Pepe Reina will make his home debut for Aston Villa against Watford.

Villa’s Jonathan Kodjia has recently made the move from Aston Villa to Qatari side Al Gharafa.

From the Dugout:

Nigel Pearson:

“Whenever you play sides in and around your own situation, the benefits of winning are huge. We go into the game with our intention to try and win. It will be another big game for us.

We have to manage the game itself and not get too bogged down with how the game will be built up. The players have to go out and perform. That is the bottom line.

Preparations are going okay. Yesterday was about recovering from the game against Spurs and today we’ll continue with our preparation.

I don’t take anything for granted in football. I certainly don’t buy into the thought that just because something happened a couple of weeks ago, it’s going to happen again. We have to earn the right to win games.”

Dean Smith:

“We played Watford fairly recently, so we know a lot about them. We’re looking forward to the game.

We’ve changed since the 3-0 loss in December. We’ve changed our system. The personnel who played against Brighton on Saturday would have been different to the personnel who played against Watford.

The games we’ve played since our trip to Vicarage Road, I felt like we’ve had a real reaction. Our performances against Burnley, Leicester and Brighton have been good.”

Head-to-head

Aston Villa and Watford have met seven times previously in the Premier League. The history books show that both teams have won three, with the other a draw.

Watford have scored three goals in each of their last three games against Villa. Troy Deeney has netted in every one of those ties.

Although the Hornets are both a place and a point above those in Claret and Blue, Aston Villa will go into the game having won more matches and having scored more goals this campaign. Watford are 17th, Villa 18th and on 22 points as opposed to Watford’s 23.

The last meeting between the two sides was on 28th December at Vicarage Road, the hosts winning 3-0.