Will there be many changes for the starting 11 then? (ho-ho!!)
Watford v Liverpool
Vicarage Road Saturday, 13 January Kick-off: 1245 GMT
Coverage on the BBC Sport website, BBC Radio Five Live & highlights on MOTD
Watford captain Gavin Mahon returns after missing the FA Cup win over Stockport and Tamas Priskin is available after suspension.
Lee Williamson and Will Hoskins could make their debuts but defender Dan ****tu (ankle) remains a doubt.
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez recalls his big names although he is without Luis Garcia (knee) for the season.
Mark Gonzalez and Steven Warnock have joined Mohamed Sissoko, Bolo Zenden and Harry Kewell on the injury list.
Watford (from): Foster, Lee, Mariappa, Mackay, DeMerit, Stewart, ****tu, Powell, Doyley, Smith, Francis, Bangura, McNamee, Mahon, Williamson, Spring, Jarrett, Henderson, Ashikodi, Young, Priskin, Hoskins.
Liverpool (from): Reina, Finnan, Carragher, Agger, Hyypia, Riise, Aurelio, Pennant, Gerrard, Alonso, Bellamy, Crouch, Kuyt, Fowler, Dudek, Guthrie, Paletta.
# Watford manager Aidy Boothroyd:
"One of the problems for promoted teams is the speed Premiership teams go on the attack.
"When we came up, we played a style we felt would limit chances opposition would have to counter-attack us.
"We are playing better football than at the start of the season, but it will take time to play how I want to play."
#
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez:
"I hope the result (the 6-3 loss against Arsenal in the Carling Cup) will galvanise everyone at the club and be firmly focused on what is ahead.
"We can analyse what has happened in these last two games and use that to our benefit in the future."
BIG-MATCH FACTS
WATFORD are rock bottom of the Premiership table, 10 points from safety, as they prepare to face a shell-shocked Liverpool in the Saturday lunchtime fixture at Vicarage Road. Aidy Boothroyd's struggling side have picked up just three points out of 27 since their only win of this League season, home to Middlesbrough on 4 November. But they go into this clash buoyed by the 4-1 home victory over League Two Stockport in the FA Cup, when they came back from a goal down. It was the first time this season Watford had scored four goals in a game.
The Hornets have beaten Liverpool once in three Premier League meetings, and have recorded just three wins in 15 League encounters against them.
LIVERPOOL are smarting from a nightmare week at Anfield which has seen consecutive defeats to Arsenal in the FA Cup and Carling Cup - the latter by six goals to three, the first time since 1930 the Reds had shipped six goals in a home fixture. In the Premiership however, they are the form team with more clean sheets than any other club, and are in pole position for a place in the Champions League qualifying rounds.
Although the Reds could suffer three defeats in a row for only the second time in the reign of Rafael Benitez, they have lost just one of their last 10 League games and won six out of seven.
The Merseysiders were made to work hard before winning the reverse fixture 2-0 three weeks ago, and are looking to double Watford for the fourth time in their history and the first time in the Premiership.
REFEREE
Mark Clattenburg (Tyne & Wear)
Premiership referees' table
Mark Clattenburg's 2006-07 Premiership card count
SEQUENCES/RECENT FORM
WATFORD
Club stats
Fixtures
20th 12 points
Highest achievable after Saturday's matches: 20th
Lowest could fall: 20th
1. Recorded one win in 11 in all competitions (v Stockport in the FA Cup last Saturday).
2. Failed to score in six of the nine Premiership games since beating Middlesbrough, and netted one goal in each of the other three fixtures.
3. Won fewer Premiership matches than any other club (one).
4. Have the joint poorest attack in the Premier League with West Ham. Both have netted 12 goals but the Hammers have played two more matches.
5. Registered more top flight goalless draws than any other club this season (six), and managed just seven clean sheets.
6. Netted one goal every 150 minutes (two and a half hours) of Premier League football played.
7. Their 20 League matches have yielded 38 goals (12 for, 26 against). At 1.9, it's the lowest goals per game ratio in the top division.
8. Gone in at half time in front in only two Premiership matches (home to Fulham and Middlesbrough).
9. Won only one of nine home Premiership matches, scoring just eight goals in total in front of the home supporters, and conceding nine.
10. Two Premiership fixtures, away to Aston Villa and home to Blackburn, are scheduled before the trip to West Ham in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
LIVERPOOL
Club stats
Fixtures
3rd 40 points
Highest achievable after Saturday's matches: 3rd
Lowest could fall: 5th
1. Won five of the last eight in League and Cup.
2. Leading the Premiership's Last Six Current Form table with 15 points out the 18.
3. Kept nine clean sheets in 10 League outings, and conceded just one goal in the 10 games.
4. Failed to score in one of seven Premiership games.
5. Scored exactly 900 Premier League goals, and are one defeat short of 150 in this League.
6. Opened the scoring in 11 League matches, and won all 11.
7. Won 10 and drawn two of the 12 Premier League matches in which clean sheets have been kept.
8. Been shown 27 cards in Premiership matches this season (all yellow). Only Reading players have been shown fewer 26 (28 have been issued to Watford players).
9. Won three of the last four League games on the road, and failed to score in seven of 10. Only Chelsea have kept more clean sheets (six) on their Premiership travels than Liverpool's four, and only West Ham have failed to score more often on the road than the Reds' seven (nine).
10. The next match is home to Chelsea next Saturday, before a trip to West Ham and the Merseyside derby against Everton at Anfield.
KEY PLAYER NOTES/POTENTIAL MILESTONES
WATFORD
Squad profiles
Ashley YOUNG is Watford's top scorer with four goals.
Young and Hameur BOUAZZA are the club's top Premiership scorers with three each.
Darius HENDERSON is the only player to have figured in at least a part of every one of Watford's Premiership matches this season.
When he next plays, Marlon KING will be making his 50th League appearance in a Watford shirt.
LIVERPOOL
Squad profiles
Peter CROUCH is Liverpool's top scorer with 10 goals.
Dirk KUYT is the club's leading scorer in the Premiership with seven.
Jose Manuel REINA is the only remaining player to have been on the field for every minute of the Reds' Premiership matches this season.
Reina and Steven GERRARD are the only players to have figured in at least a part of each of Liverpool's Premiership games this season.
If he plays, Jermaine PENNANT will be playing two days before his 24th birthday.
Pennant spent two periods on loan with Watford when on Arsenal's books.
THIS SEASON'S REVERSE FIXTURE
Liverpool 2-0 Watford
23 December 2006 - Ref: Phil Dowd
Liverpool scorers: Bellamy 47, Alonso 88
HEAD TO HEAD TOTALS
Home and away
League: Watford 3 wins, Liverpool 11, Draws 1
Prem: Watford 1 wins, Liverpool 2, Draws 0
at Watford only
League: Watford 2 wins, Liverpool 4, Draws 1
Prem: Watford 0 wins, Liverpool 1, Draws 0
Watford v Liverpool
Vicarage Road Saturday, 13 January Kick-off: 1245 GMT
Coverage on the BBC Sport website, BBC Radio Five Live & highlights on MOTD
Watford captain Gavin Mahon returns after missing the FA Cup win over Stockport and Tamas Priskin is available after suspension.
Lee Williamson and Will Hoskins could make their debuts but defender Dan ****tu (ankle) remains a doubt.
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez recalls his big names although he is without Luis Garcia (knee) for the season.
Mark Gonzalez and Steven Warnock have joined Mohamed Sissoko, Bolo Zenden and Harry Kewell on the injury list.
Watford (from): Foster, Lee, Mariappa, Mackay, DeMerit, Stewart, ****tu, Powell, Doyley, Smith, Francis, Bangura, McNamee, Mahon, Williamson, Spring, Jarrett, Henderson, Ashikodi, Young, Priskin, Hoskins.
Liverpool (from): Reina, Finnan, Carragher, Agger, Hyypia, Riise, Aurelio, Pennant, Gerrard, Alonso, Bellamy, Crouch, Kuyt, Fowler, Dudek, Guthrie, Paletta.
# Watford manager Aidy Boothroyd:
"One of the problems for promoted teams is the speed Premiership teams go on the attack.
"When we came up, we played a style we felt would limit chances opposition would have to counter-attack us.
"We are playing better football than at the start of the season, but it will take time to play how I want to play."
#
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez:
"I hope the result (the 6-3 loss against Arsenal in the Carling Cup) will galvanise everyone at the club and be firmly focused on what is ahead.
"We can analyse what has happened in these last two games and use that to our benefit in the future."
BIG-MATCH FACTS
WATFORD are rock bottom of the Premiership table, 10 points from safety, as they prepare to face a shell-shocked Liverpool in the Saturday lunchtime fixture at Vicarage Road. Aidy Boothroyd's struggling side have picked up just three points out of 27 since their only win of this League season, home to Middlesbrough on 4 November. But they go into this clash buoyed by the 4-1 home victory over League Two Stockport in the FA Cup, when they came back from a goal down. It was the first time this season Watford had scored four goals in a game.
The Hornets have beaten Liverpool once in three Premier League meetings, and have recorded just three wins in 15 League encounters against them.
LIVERPOOL are smarting from a nightmare week at Anfield which has seen consecutive defeats to Arsenal in the FA Cup and Carling Cup - the latter by six goals to three, the first time since 1930 the Reds had shipped six goals in a home fixture. In the Premiership however, they are the form team with more clean sheets than any other club, and are in pole position for a place in the Champions League qualifying rounds.
Although the Reds could suffer three defeats in a row for only the second time in the reign of Rafael Benitez, they have lost just one of their last 10 League games and won six out of seven.
The Merseysiders were made to work hard before winning the reverse fixture 2-0 three weeks ago, and are looking to double Watford for the fourth time in their history and the first time in the Premiership.
REFEREE
Mark Clattenburg (Tyne & Wear)
Premiership referees' table
Mark Clattenburg's 2006-07 Premiership card count
SEQUENCES/RECENT FORM
WATFORD
Club stats
Fixtures
20th 12 points
Highest achievable after Saturday's matches: 20th
Lowest could fall: 20th
1. Recorded one win in 11 in all competitions (v Stockport in the FA Cup last Saturday).
2. Failed to score in six of the nine Premiership games since beating Middlesbrough, and netted one goal in each of the other three fixtures.
3. Won fewer Premiership matches than any other club (one).
4. Have the joint poorest attack in the Premier League with West Ham. Both have netted 12 goals but the Hammers have played two more matches.
5. Registered more top flight goalless draws than any other club this season (six), and managed just seven clean sheets.
6. Netted one goal every 150 minutes (two and a half hours) of Premier League football played.
7. Their 20 League matches have yielded 38 goals (12 for, 26 against). At 1.9, it's the lowest goals per game ratio in the top division.
8. Gone in at half time in front in only two Premiership matches (home to Fulham and Middlesbrough).
9. Won only one of nine home Premiership matches, scoring just eight goals in total in front of the home supporters, and conceding nine.
10. Two Premiership fixtures, away to Aston Villa and home to Blackburn, are scheduled before the trip to West Ham in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
LIVERPOOL
Club stats
Fixtures
3rd 40 points
Highest achievable after Saturday's matches: 3rd
Lowest could fall: 5th
1. Won five of the last eight in League and Cup.
2. Leading the Premiership's Last Six Current Form table with 15 points out the 18.
3. Kept nine clean sheets in 10 League outings, and conceded just one goal in the 10 games.
4. Failed to score in one of seven Premiership games.
5. Scored exactly 900 Premier League goals, and are one defeat short of 150 in this League.
6. Opened the scoring in 11 League matches, and won all 11.
7. Won 10 and drawn two of the 12 Premier League matches in which clean sheets have been kept.
8. Been shown 27 cards in Premiership matches this season (all yellow). Only Reading players have been shown fewer 26 (28 have been issued to Watford players).
9. Won three of the last four League games on the road, and failed to score in seven of 10. Only Chelsea have kept more clean sheets (six) on their Premiership travels than Liverpool's four, and only West Ham have failed to score more often on the road than the Reds' seven (nine).
10. The next match is home to Chelsea next Saturday, before a trip to West Ham and the Merseyside derby against Everton at Anfield.
KEY PLAYER NOTES/POTENTIAL MILESTONES
WATFORD
Squad profiles
Ashley YOUNG is Watford's top scorer with four goals.
Young and Hameur BOUAZZA are the club's top Premiership scorers with three each.
Darius HENDERSON is the only player to have figured in at least a part of every one of Watford's Premiership matches this season.
When he next plays, Marlon KING will be making his 50th League appearance in a Watford shirt.
LIVERPOOL
Squad profiles
Peter CROUCH is Liverpool's top scorer with 10 goals.
Dirk KUYT is the club's leading scorer in the Premiership with seven.
Jose Manuel REINA is the only remaining player to have been on the field for every minute of the Reds' Premiership matches this season.
Reina and Steven GERRARD are the only players to have figured in at least a part of each of Liverpool's Premiership games this season.
If he plays, Jermaine PENNANT will be playing two days before his 24th birthday.
Pennant spent two periods on loan with Watford when on Arsenal's books.
THIS SEASON'S REVERSE FIXTURE
Liverpool 2-0 Watford
23 December 2006 - Ref: Phil Dowd
Liverpool scorers: Bellamy 47, Alonso 88
HEAD TO HEAD TOTALS
Home and away
League: Watford 3 wins, Liverpool 11, Draws 1
Prem: Watford 1 wins, Liverpool 2, Draws 0
at Watford only
League: Watford 2 wins, Liverpool 4, Draws 1
Prem: Watford 0 wins, Liverpool 1, Draws 0
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