We are bringing you live text commentary of Liverpool v Watford, plus the rest of Saturday's Premier League action.
You'll be able to catch up with all the post-match reaction on this page after full-time at Anfield
Four changes for Liverpool from their last Premier League match - the 2-0 win at Arsenal on 16 March.
Mohamed Salah, who was pelted with missiles and targeted by green laser pointers as Egypt missed out on the World Cup on Tuesday, returns along with Roberto Firmino, Joe Gomez and Curtis Jones.
Trent Alexander-Arnold has recovered from a hamstring injury and starts on the bench.
Gomez is making only his second Premier League start of the season. Sadio Mane and Luis Diaz are on the bench.
Liverpool XI: Alisson, Gomez, Matip, van Dijk, Robertson, Jones, Henderson, Thiago, Salah, Firmino, Jota.
Substitutes: Fabinho, Konate, Milner, Mane, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Tsimikas, Diaz, Kelleher, Alexander-Arnold.
Image source, BBC SportThis is Watford's first game for almost three weeks since a 2-1 win at Southampton on 13 March.
Winger Ismaila Sarr returns after missing the past three games because of a hamstring injury.
Emmanuel Dennis drops to the bench.
Watford XI: Foster, Femenia, Kabasele, Samir, Kamara, Sissoko, Louza, Kucka, Sarr, Joao Pedro, Hernandez.
Substitutes: Ngakia, King, Cleverley, Masina, Sema, Cathcart, Dennis, Bachmann, Kayembe.
Image source, BBC SportGeoff Doyle, BBC Three Counties Radio
Watford produced one of their best performances of the season last time out when they beat Southampton 2-1 - certainly the best since Roy Hodgson took over. So the three-week break since then and the absence of a number of players on international duty has come at a frustrating time.
The Hornets have seven weeks to save their season and stay in the Premier League. The match at Liverpool this weekend is one they are unlikely to gain much from, which then leaves them eight games to avoid relegation.
It’s the home matches which are going to prove pivotal and they have five still to come at Vicarage Road, all winnable: Leeds, Brentford, Burnley, Leicester and one to be re-arranged against Everton. And yet Watford are a better team away from home.
At Vicarage Road Watford have lost their past eight in a row. Away from home the Hornets have won two, drawn two and lost two in their previous six.
Much focus will be on Ismaila Sarr at Anfield. He has been linked with Liverpool, although that was some time ago and could have simply been as a result of his friendship with Sadio Mane.
Sarr will return to the Watford squad having made his return from injury playing alongside Mane for Senegal. Normally you would assume he would return straight to the team, but Cucho Hernandez, Joao Pedro and Emmanuel Dennis played so well at St Mary’s it’s difficult to know who will be dropped - whoever is will feel very hard-done by.
Reports last week suggest Sarr will leave Watford at the end of the season whether they stay up or not. The Hornets signed him for a lot of money (reportedly about £30 million) so it will be interesting how much he eventually goes for considering he’s had another injury-hit season.
The owners will do well to make a significant profit on the player given this. What they will want is him playing from now until the end of the season to showcase his undoubted talent.
Mark Lawrenson takes on actor and Crystal Palace fan Jim Piddock in the latest round of Premier League predictions.
Lawro's prediction: 3-0
Performances don't matter now for Liverpool or Manchester City - results are all that matter from here in the title race.
Liverpool have won their past nine league games but they have to forget all the noise and just focus on winning this one. Their task on Saturday will be to break down Watford because we know exactly how Roy Hodgson will set the Hornets up.
I don't think the Reds will have too much trouble there, though.
Watford got a good win last time out - at Southampton on 13 March - but we have seen them flicker into life before and then put in a disappointing display in their next game. I'd be very surprised if they held out for 90 minutes at Anfield.
Jim's prediction: 4-0
Find out how Lawro and Jim Piddock think the rest of the weekend's fixtures will go
Image source, Getty ImagesLiverpool right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold could make a swift return from the hamstring injury that caused him to miss England's recent fixtures.
Midfielder Naby Keita also withdrew from international duty with a knee injury but he could also feature.
Winger Ismaila Sarr is set to return after missing Watford's last three games because of a hamstring injury.
Defender Nicolas Nkoulou is available after completing his recovery from a long-term hamstring issue.
Alistair Bruce-Ball, Chris Sutton and Statman Dave look ahead to gameweek 31.
Fantasy Football Fest’s Ed Gray joins the pod to talk FPL social gatherings and how similar he is to certain members of the podcast.
Plus there’s a very fiery game of Sutton Death.
Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds
And read Alistair's fantasy football tips for this week here
Image source, PA MediaWatford manager Roy Hodgson says his team have "tied a chain around our neck and attached a rock to it" as he prepares for a daunting trip to title-chasing Liverpool on Saturday.
"We've got to pull that with us now wherever we go," he said, "because we're points behind the teams we need to catch up.
"In any league, once you get some points behind and the numbers of games starts to dwindle, your job becomes more and more difficult each time."
Nevertheless, Hodgson is still hoping to "surprise the football world" by getting a result at Anfield and build on their win at Southampton last time out.
"You need to be realistic," he said. "There are teams where you would like to think that with the quality we have we can give those teams a good game and get a result.
"And there'll be other games where you're hoping your team will put off some sort of exceptional performance and get the result that no-one expects.
"Of course we go there as very clear underdogs."
Roy Hodgson has been speaking to the media before Watford’s visit to Liverpool on Saturday.
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
He has an almost fully fit squad to choose from with those players who have been on international duty set to be assessed today. Nicolas Nkoulou is in contention after recovering from a long-term hamstring injury.
On the international break: "There's been a good contingent that have been here during the two weeks that we had. So it has been quite a good period of time for us in terms of being able to work on our game."
He thinks being able to make five substitutions would not benefit Watford: "If I am working [next season] it will depend on whether I'm working on a team at the top or the bottom of the table. The five sub rule helps teams at the top."
On Watford's need to pick up points: "We're some points behind the teams we need to catch up and the number of games is starting to dwindle. Every opportunity has to be one you do your level best to grasp."
He admits he is looking at the Liverpool fixture "with trepidation": "They're at the top of the table and we're at the bottom. When you play a team like that you know the odds are stacked against you. All we can do is hope we produce a performance that will get us a result."
Liverpool have won 12 of their 13 home league games against Watford, with the exception being a 1-0 loss in August 1999. They’ve won the last six in a row against the Hornets at Anfield by an aggregate score of 22-1.
Watford have taken just four points from their past 30 available against the Reds in the Premier League (W1 D1 L8), drawing 3-3 in August 2017 and winning 3-0 in February 2020 (both at Vicarage Road).
This will be the 19th time a manager who has previously taken charge of Liverpool in the Premier League will face them at Anfield in the competition. Just one of the previous instances has ended in a victory (D3 L14) - current Watford boss Roy Hodgson with West Brom in April 2012.
Mo Salah has been directly involved in 11 goals in just seven Premier League games against Watford, scoring nine and assisting two. The Egypt striker averages a goal or assist every 57 minutes against the Hornets, the fourth best ratio one player has against a club in Premier League history.
Watford return to action on Saturday when they travel to Anfield to face title-chasing Liverpool.
Who should make Roy Hodgson's starting XI against his former club as the Hornets look to record back-to-back wins for the first time this season?
Premier League | Games: 15
Watford forward Ismaila Sarr is being watched by Liverpool and Newcastle United. (Sun), external
Image source, Getty ImagesMatt from BHappy blog, external was not prepared to do end-of-season predictions (below - 23 March, 17:00) but is holding out hope for some entertaining games at Vicarage Road before the end of the season.
Here's a sample of your responses:
Kevin: I think we need to win all home fixtures and pray for any points away to have a chance. Leeds and Everton are in bad form, and that may be a doorway out of the drop.
Stuart: I think we will be relegated. There's not enough time left to save ourselves and we've wasted nice-looking fixture runs before - and another heavy defeat at the Etihad would sap any motivation the team have left.
Image source, Getty ImagesMatt Rowson, BHappy blog, external
Predicted points: Some
Predicted position: West of the M1, just inside the M25
No, I’m not doing predictions.
In our current predicament to forecast success would damn us to failure but to predict failure would mean accepting that outcome as inevitable, which I’m not ready to do.
Our remaining fixtures are oddly balanced; away form under Roy Hodgson has yielded a respectable eight points from six games but the four trips remaining include Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea.
In contrast the last eight home games have ended in defeat; with any form at all, five home fixtures including Burnley, Everton, Leeds and Brentford would at least be entertaining.
My biggest hope is that Cucho Hernandez’s indefatigable “death or glory” gusto infects the rest of the team and town and that those home fixtures in particular are as ferocious and febrile as they ought to be.
Image source, Getty ImagesFormer West Ham midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker has backed Watford to stay in the Premier League after the Hornets' vital win over Southampton on Sunday.
Roy Hodgson's side bounced back from a thumping defeat against Wolves to move level on points with 17th-placed Everton.
"I think Watford will sneak out of it, I really do," Reo-Coker told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast.
"That win will be such a big confidence boost for them. They look structured, they look organised and they seem to know what they are doing in terms of gameplan."
Ex-Manchester City forward Paul Dickov said the credit for the win should go to manager Hodgson who has overseen two victories and two draws from his nine games in charge.
"His sides have always been difficult to beat," Dickov said. "This is where his experience of being in relegation battles and grinding out results will be felt."
Listen to the full discussion on Watford's survival chances from 13'40 on BBC Sounds
Image source, Rex FeaturesGeoff Doyle, BBC Three Counties Radio
Watford's victory at Southampton lifted the air of doom and gloom and has offered renewed hope that they might get out of relegation danger. Before the match the talk was that in most other seasons Watford would be pretty much down and out.
Ten games to go with just 19 points on the board they would probably be cut adrift. They would normally need about another 20 points from a possible 30 and considering they have Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea to go to that would be unrealistic.
However, this season is different. Fortunately for Watford, there are four other teams with very few points so they still have a small chance. And following the win at St Mary's and Everton's defeat the table looks even better now.
They are level on points with the team outside the relegation zone - Everton - and four points from the team above them - Leeds. What’s more, both those clubs have to come to Vicarage Road as do Burnley - the team below Watford, plus Brentford.
The shame is that Roy Hodgson's side have to wait three weeks for their next game while rivals play in between. And that next Hornets match is at Anfield against Liverpool.
Nevertheless there is still that tiny glimmer of hope as a result of four other teams who have been just as or almost as poor.
Image source, Getty ImagesWatford gained their first victory against Southampton in the Premier League since September 2017 (2-0), ending a run of six such games against the Saints without a win (D3 L3).
Southampton have lost consecutive Premier League home games for the first time since February 2021 (a run of three).
The eight points Watford have gained in their nine Premier League games under Roy Hodgson have all come away from home (W2 D2 L2 away from home); only Chelsea (9) have amassed more points on the road since the Hornets’ first such game under Hodgson.
The Hornets' last 82 Premier League goals have all been scored from inside the box, since Gerard Deulofeu’s 19-yard strike against Cardiff in February 2019.
Image source, Getty ImagesHarry Poole, BBC Sport
Watford had won just once in eight since Roy Hodgson's appointment as manager in late January, but this spirited performance was the perfect response to their capitulation against Wolves on Thursday
A double from Cucho Hernandez against an out-of-sorts Southampton means the Hornets now remain in the bottom three on goal difference alone, after Everton lost to Wolves.
The 22-year-old Colombian produced two rather different - though equally impressive - finishes as the visitors held on for a huge three points.
Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl introduced striker Armando Broja at the break but it had little effect on his below-par side, who must regroup quickly as they aim to cause an upset in their FA Cup quarter-final against Premier League leaders Manchester City next Sunday.
The 74-year-old Hodgson could certainly have done without the late video assistant referee check for a handball against defender Christian Kabasele in a tense finale, but his side dug in to give their survival hopes a significant boost.
Watford manager Roy Hodgson speaking to BBC Sport: "I thought we played well today from the first minute. We weren't doing that badly on Thursday [against Wolves]. We're not top of the table, we're near the bottom and when you're 3-0 down players have to show enormous character to get back from that.
"I'm really pleased with the performance today. The front players gave us another level of energy from what we've been seeing. I thought we created quite a few opportunities to score.
"Our crowd were incredible today - it was like a home game. You can't ask more if you're a Watford player."
