Watford

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Watford head coach Tom Cleverley said he would like his side to be "a bit more entertaining" following their 1-0 win against Bristol City.

The Hornets dropped two points in stoppage time in their 2-2 draw at Plymouth last Friday before edging past the Robins at Vicarage Road on Tuesday night.

That result lifted Watford to fifth and ensures they will remain in the play-off positions by the time they host QPR at the weekend.

"Friday, the performance is sustainable to go in an upward trajectory, and tonight [Tuesday], the mindset is," Cleverley told BBC Three Counties Radio.

"Now our challenge is to put the two of them together as consistently as we can, starting with QPR on Saturday."

Watford are the third most entertaining side in the Championship so far, with 50 goals across their 17 games - six fewer than Norwich City, who have been involved in games with the most goals (56) and two less than Plymouth (52).

Despite that, Cleverley still wants his side to build on three consecutive 1-0 home wins with more attacking output.

"Like I said before, the challenge is performance on Friday, mindset this evening - put them both together Saturday and try and be a bit more entertaining," Cleverley added.

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Watford boss Tom Cleverley believes his side will shake off the disappointment of conceding a late equaliser at Plymouth on Friday as they prepare to host Bristol City in the Championship on Tuesday.

The Hornets were on course for just their third away win of the season before Andre Gray struck an injury-time leveller in a 2-2 draw.

"We've all got big ambitions this season - we've all agreed what we want to achieve," Cleverley told BBC Three Counties Radio.

"We want to be in the top six and challenge for promotion and every win is vital so when one slips from your grasp it does hurt."

Watford go into the game at Vicarage Road with one of the Championship's four unbeaten home records and sitting in seventh place, with only goal difference keeping them out of the top six.

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Watford will have Republic of Ireland international Festy Ebosele back following a one-match ban for Tuesday's home game against Bristol City.

Ebosele missed Friday's 2-2 draw with Plymouth Argyle when Andre Gray's added-time equaliser cost the Hornets all three points.

Young midfielder Pierre Dwomoh could also be in Tom Cleverley's squad, having last played in the 1-0 win over Oxford United on 8 November.

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Watford are only behind West Brom in the play-off spots on goal difference following their 2-2 draw at Plymouth on Friday night and have won three of their last five games (D1 L1).

They host Bristol City on Tuesday night, who fell to their second defeat in three games in a 1-0 loss at home to Burnley on Saturday, having previously been unbeaten in eight (W3 D5).

• Watford have lost only one of their last six league games against Bristol City (W2 D3).

• Bristol City are looking to win consecutive away league visits to Watford for the first time since doing so in 2007-08 and 2008-09.

• Watford are unbeaten at Vicarage Road in the league in their previous 11 games (W7 D4); they last went 12 such games unbeaten in January 1999.

• Bristol City are looking to win three successive away league games for the first time since September 2021 under Nigel Pearson.

• Only against Rotherham (9) does Watford's Tom Ince have more EFL goals against a side than Bristol City (8), though he hasn't scored in his last seven league games against the Robins.

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Watford head coach Tom Cleverley was not angry with his players despite seeing his side drop two points in stoppage time of the 2-2 draw at Plymouth on Friday.

The Hornets had looked to be taking all three points from Home Park, which would have taken them to fourth in the Championship, until ex-Watford striker Andre Gray's 96th-minute leveller.

"I can't be too angry with the players, it was everything we asked for, we asked for a real underdog mentality when we haven't got the ball," the former Manchester United midfielder told BBC Three Counties Radio.

"I thought the players were dogged, they were aggressive, they won duels, they won second balls.

"In possession we showed real class and calmness, we just didn't get that third goal you always feel like you need when you're coming here - they score a lot of late goals and that's what's undone us.

"Our leaky defence and our away form has been questioned this season and I'm honestly not sure how we've not picked up three points."

Cleverley did, however, admit his team should have wrapped up the win well before Gray's late strike.

"Its about looking at ourselves - we should have done more to be out of sight at 2-1.

"I feel like we had so many opportunities in transition that we just weren't clinical enough."

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Watford manager Tom Cleverley has confirmed defender Kevin Keben will be sidelined for at least a further six weeks.

The Cameroon under-23 international has only made one appearance for the Hornets since making the move from Toulouse in the summer after arriving with a knee issue.

Cleverley said in his pre-match press conference, external that Keben could be out for as long as two months following surgery on another knee issue.

Pierre Dwomoh is also set to miss Friday night's Championship match at Plymouth Argyle due to illness while fellow midfielder Festy Ebosele serves a one-game suspension.

Watford will have Moussa Sissoko back from a three-match ban as they look for a fourth win in five Championship matches.

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Hornets midfielder Festy Ebosele helped the Republic of Ireland to a Nations League victory on his first start for his country on Thursday.

The County Wexford-born 22-year-old played 76 minutes on the right flank as the hosts saw off Finland by the only goal at the Aviva Arena.

He will hope to retain his place for the trip to Wembley to face England on Sunday (17:00 GMT).

The former Derby man, on loan from Udinese this season, was one of eight Watford players called up for senior international duty this week.

In-form Vakoun Bayo was called up by the Ivory Coast for the first time in six years while Edo Kayembe and Mamadou Doumbia are also on AFCON duty with Democratic Republic of Congo and Mali respectively.

Ryan Porteous is on Scotland duty in the Nations League while Giorgi Chakvetadze is action for Georgia, Ken Sema for Sweden while Francisco Sierralta is trying to help Chile in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.

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Watford boss Tom Cleverley says there is still more to come from his squad despite being unbeaten at home and winning three of their past four Championship matches.

The Hornets' 1-0 win over Oxford last Friday made it six victories at Vicarage Road so far this season and leaves them in sixth place.

"I think the exciting part is we've not hit close to top gear yet - we've not hit consistency in first halves and we've not found consistency away from home," Cleverley told BBC Three Counties Radio.

"The players are working as hard as they can to fulfil the potential I think the squad has and it's my job to stay on top of that."

Watford will travel to Plymouth for their next game, after the international break.

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After signing a new five-year deal at Watford, centre-back Mattie Pollock could be a future Hornets captain, according to boss Tom Cleverley.

Pollock arrived from Grimsby Town in July 2021 and had loan spells with Cheltenham and Aberdeen before breaking into the Watford picture in 2023-24.

The 23-year-old has started all 14 Championship games this season and scored his first Hornets goal in a 5-0 Carabao Cup first round win over MK Dons in August, a game in which he captained the side.

Cleverley thinks Pollock can go on to become club skipper on a permanent basis and told the club website, external: “He’s a leader, he’s got a good sense of humour and he’s got great energy. He’s a well-liked character.

“What’s impressed us most as staff is how he’s improved on the ball. He’s really comfortable in possession now and that’s why he’s been catapulted from someone on the fringes to consistently in the team.”

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Watford manager Tom Cleverley expects his side to make it a tough night for Oxford United when they visit Vicarage Road on Friday.

The Hornets are unbeaten at home in the Championship this season with five wins and one draw.

"They're coming to a place which is getting a bit of a reputation as our fortress so we have to make it as uncomfortable as possible," Cleverley told BBC Three Counties Radio.

Watford's 1-0 defeat at Swansea on Tuesday came after two wins in a row, but victory over Oxford would move them up to fourth place ahead of the rest of the weekend's fixtures.

"The players will have to look after themselves, especially the ones who've had to play all three games this week," Cleverley added.

Watford will be without the suspended defender Francisco Sierralta but Ryan Porteous should replace him after he served a one match ban.

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Watford manager Tom Cleverley says his squad is being severely tested in a busy run of games.

The Hornets were beaten 1-0 at Swansea on Tuesday night and have a quick turn around before entertaining Oxford on Friday.

"The squad is running thin, we've got suspensions, we've got injuries and three games in six days but we'll find solutions for Friday," Cleverly told BBC Three Counties Radio.

Forward, Kwadwo Baah was introduced as a second-half substitute at Swansea and made an impression with his pace but Cleverley admits he couldn't play him from the start.

"Baah's got a niggle and I wasn't even planning on using him for as long as I did.

"We're trying to reduce his load this week so he can play on Friday - he had a fantastic impact but the plan was to only use him for half an hour."

Cleverley will be able to recall Ryan Porteous from suspension for the game against Oxford but will now be without Francisco Sierralta after he collected a fifth yellow card of the season in the defeat by Swansea.

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Watford are four points off the automatic promotion places after winning two on the bounce, including a first away victory since the opening day when they thrashed Sheffield Wednesday 6-2 last time out.

Swansea City ended a run of six games without a win when they beat Oxford 2-1 on Saturday but haven't tasted victory at home since 14 September.

• Swansea have won four of their last seven league meetings with Watford (D1 L2), although they failed to win either encounter last season (D1 L1).

• Watford are looking to win on consecutive league visits to Swansea City for the first time ever.

• Swansea are looking to avoid failing to score in three successive league games for the first time since May 2013 in the Premier League, while they last did so outside the top flight in March 2010 in the Championship.

• Watford are winless in their last eight midweek league games (D3 L5), losing both such games this season.

• Watford's Tom Ince has scored three goals in his last four Championship games against Swansea, all of which came with Reading in 2022.