Saturday February 23 (17.30 GMT), Vicarage Road, BT Sport 1
Watford winger Gerard Deulofeu will hope to continue his strong start to life at Vicarage Road by helping his new club to victory against former team, Everton, this Saturday.
A January loan signing from Barcelona, the pacey wide man played a crucial role in the recent home thumping of Chelsea, and faces his ex-employers with something of a point to prove after failing to nail down a regular place during his time at Goodison.
Extra spice is added to what should otherwise have been a relatively tame mid-table affair by Everton's failed pursuit of Marco Silva over the winter- and Watford's resultant statement blaming the Blues in part for a mid-season downturn under the Portuguese.
Since then, though, both sides have moved on to secure their own short-term futures, at the very least. Silva, undermined by a desire to move to Goodison, has been replaced by the highly rated Javi Gracia, while under Sam Allardyce, Everton are currently closer to Europe than the relegation berths.
Now, with both clubs operating in something of a mini-league with the likes of Leicester City and Burnley for seventh place- and a potential Europa League spot- Saturday's game offers Watford and Everton the opportunity to advance their own claims as 'best of the rest' against a direct rival.
Team news
Watford could be ready to welcome back as many as five players for Saturday's game, with the FA Cup weekend affording time for a clutch of injured players to make progress in their rehabilitation. As such, first-choice 'keeper Heurelho Gomes, right-back Kiko Femenia and centre-back Miguel Britos are amongst those who will return to contention for the visit of Everton.
Regulars Nathaniel Chalobah, Christian Kabasele and Tom Cleverley all remain on the sidelines with long-term injuries, with the likes of Etienne Capoue and Adrian Mariappa most likely to profit this weekend.
Should Hornets boss Gracia choose to keep faith with the 3-4-3 setup that has served his side well in recent weeks, Gerard Deulofeu may well be handed a chance to get one over his former club from the start. The Spaniard, on loan from Barcelona, is likely to play in a well-balanced three-man attack with Richarlison and Troy Deeney.
Everton, meanwhile, have a number of injury concerns of their own, with Eliaquim Managala expected to miss most of the remainder of the season and full backs Seamus Coleman and Leighton Baines doubtful for the Vicarage Road clash. And so, a couple of changes in defence could be on the cards for Allardyce's men, as Jonjoe Kenny and Ashley Williams wait in reserve.
Further up the pitch, the majority of Blues supporters will hope Allardyce again plumps for a midfield trio of Idrissa Gueye, Wayne Rooney and Tom Davies, with the group arguably offering Everton the most varied skill-set seen this season in the centre of the park.
In attack, Oumar Niasse is in line to continue as a lone striker for the visitors; most likely supported by Gylfi Sigurdsson and Theo Walcott.
What they said
Javi Gracia: "I think now the team has a good balance - playing with three or four at the back depends on the other team, but we have a balance attacking at defending.
"In the next match we play against Everton and they are not West Ham or Chelsea and have a different style. Always we prepare carefully and try to prepare in the right way.
"I think we played a very good match against Chelsea with a good result but against West Ham we didn’t play a bad match. We were soft in many moments, but we dominated the possession and the shots on target. That is OK but we were soft in both boxes. We deserved that result, but that attitude, I think is a good way to be.
"I have confidence in the next matches that we will be more aggressive and improve the level of the team."
Sam Allardyce: "I think everyone benefitted from the opportunity to go on a training camp. Ours was particularly good in terms of what we wanted to achieve and hopefully we can reap the benefits between now and the end of the season.
"The players have no excuse anymore for not going out there and performing. Now I prefer that the team only gets changed by injuries or suspension. The rest of the lads have to be patient.
"[A strong finish] sends everybody home happy & looking forward to the next season. When you finish stronger, you come in with a greater expectation for the next season"
Expected starting lineups
Watford: Gomes; Mariappa, Prodl, Holebas; Femenia, Capoue, Doucouré, Zeegelaar; Deulofeu, Richarlison, Deeney
Everton: Pickford; Kenny, Keane, Williams, Martina; Gueye, Rooney, Davies; Walcott, Sigurdsson, Niasse
Prediction
Saturday's fixture is a battle between two evenly-matched teams looking to cement a place in the top half of the table after casting away initial fears over relegation. A case in point, with that in mind, was the entertaining 3-2 home win played out in the reverse fixture at Goodison, where Watford had the ascendency for long spells only to be undone late on by an Oumar Niasse-inspired Everton
The tables have turned slightly since that day, with the Hornets experiencing something of a mid-season slump after an approach for former manager Marco Silva from Saturday's visitors, and Everton now up to ninth in the table.
Under new manager Javi Gracia, though, the hosts will undoubtedly offer stern opposition. Despite losing 2-0 away to West Ham last time around, Watford's last home fixture saw a resounding 4-1 victory over champions Chelsea- with ex-Toffee Deulofeu, in particular, excelling.
The feeling lingers, too, that for all Everton's improved form at Goodison of late, a soft centre remains away from home, where they have won just once in a year. Indeed, the worry for the Merseysiders must be that Abdoulaye Doucouré, an outstanding presence for Watford this season in midfield, swamps the Blues in the centre of the park, while Deulofeu and Richarlison win the battles against their opposite numbers in wide areas.
If this indeed happens, Everton's torrid fun of form on the road may well continue this weekend.
Watford 2-1 Everton
