Hodgson on Sarr, Arsenal and home improvementpublished at 15:38 4 March 2022
15:38 4 March 2022
Roy Hodgson has been speaking to the media before Watford host Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday.
Here are the key lines from the Hornets boss:
Hodgson confirmed both winger Ismaila Sarr and centre-back William Troost-Ekong will miss the game with the Gunners through injury.
He said facing Arsenal is a "very big challenge", like the fixtures against Aston Villa and Manchester United, but Watford "came out on the right side of those games".
On the balance of the team, Hodgson said you need "both sides of your game" to come together to get a result.
The objective against Arsenal will be to "match" the Gunners and aim to cause Mikel Arteta's side problems by denying them chances at Vicarage Road.
An improvement to Watford's home form is a must for Hodgson after defeats by Crystal Palace and Brighton, but the Hornets manager doesn't quite know why his side has been better on the road in recent games.
Hodgson praised the work the club and its fans are doing to help the people of Ukraine. "They’re doing a really good job," he added.
Watford v Arsenal: What does the form show?published at 11:03 3 March 2022
11:03 3 March 2022
Watford have earned just seven points from 45 available against Arsenal in the Premier League (W2 D1 L12), though four of these have come in their last three home games against them (W1 D1 L1).
Arsenal have scored in all 15 of their Premier League games against Watford – only against West Brom (26/26) do the Gunners have a better scoring rate in the league.
Watford have kept three clean sheets in their six Premier League games under Roy Hodgson, as many as they had in their previous 38 under four different managers. However, the Hornets have only scored twice in their six games under Hodgson.
Arsenal have won each of their last three Premier League away games, having won just two of their first eight on the road this season (D1 L5). The Gunners have opened the scoring in each of their last five Premier League away games, last having a longer run between January and May 2015 (7).
Roy Hodgson has won just one of his 12 Premier League home games against Arsenal (D4 L7), winning 1-0 over Fulham in August 2008. His final home match in charge of Crystal Palace ended in a 3-1 defeat to the Gunners in May last season.
Watford v Arsenal: Head-to-head recordpublished at 13:12 2 March 2022
13:12 2 March 2022
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Premier League record | Games: 15
Watford v Arsenal: Who makes your Hornets XI?published at 17:34 1 March 2022
17:34 1 March 2022
Watford host Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday as they hope to take a step towards Premier League survival.
It has been a tough start to life at Watford for Roy Hodgson, who have won just one game and scored two goals.
However, there was a positive result with a draw against Manchester United last Saturday, so would you pick the same side that started that match?
The conventional wisdom is that goals are exciting. Given the choice between a 4-4 draw and a 0-0 with no emotional investment you’d choose the former every time.
This equation changes with a stake in the game. Watford’s FA Cup fifth-round replay with Walsall at Vicarage Road finished 4-4 after a tremendous effort by the third-tier Saddlers in a fine game, but my grandad was so exercised by the whole thing that he committed never to attend another game and didn’t.
Equally, there can be beauty in a goalless draw. Not always, admittedly. Sometimes a rubbish game is just a rubbish game, to mangle a popular saying. But when you’ve gone through half a season of shipping goals far quicker than you can score them the sudden ability to throw a wet blanket over a game and club the life out of it can be a fine, fine thing.
Witness the goalless draw at Old Trafford. If there was more fortune about it (not to say two fewer points) than the win at Villa Park a week earlier you’d nonetheless have to be a miserable soul not to enjoy Cristiano Ronaldo running into Hassane Kamara, falling over and gesticulating in impotent desperation, or Samir slamming into a defiant block, or Bruno Fernandes’ shot through the forest of legs bouncing off the affronted Ronaldo and away.
It may not be enough in the long term. But it’s something, and we’re clinging to it.
This week's Premier League and FA Cup commentariespublished at 19:05 28 February 2022
19:05 28 February 2022
When it comes to this week's FA Cup fifth-round and Premier League action, BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra have you covered:
Tuesday, 1 March
Middlesbrough v Tottenham (19:55) – 5 Live
Burnley v Leicester (19:45) – Sports Extra
Wednesday, 2 March
Luton v Chelsea (19:15) - 5 Live
Liverpool v Norwich City (20:15) – Sports Extra
Thursday, 3 March
Everton v Boreham Wood (20:15) - 5 Live
Saturday, 5 March
Burnley v Chelsea (15:00) - 5 Live
Sunday, 6 March
Watford v Arsenal (14:00) - 5 Live
Manchester City v Manchester United (16:30) - 5 Live
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Get your weekend Premier League fixpublished at 11:01 28 February 2022
11:01 28 February 2022
Watch highlights of Saturday's six Premier League matches, as well as all the action from Friday's game between Southampton and Norwich City.
Man Utd 0-0 Watford: Pick of the statspublished at 08:33 28 February 2022
08:33 28 February 2022
Image source, Getty Images
Manchester United have failed to score in five of their 14 Premier League home games this season – they last failed to find the net in more home league games in a season in 2013-14 (6).
Roy Hodgson (W2 D2) is the fourth manager to go unbeaten in four consecutive away Premier League games against Manchester United, after Jurgen Klopp, Sean Dyche and Steve McClaren.
The Reds have never lost a home league game against Watford (W11 D3) – facing the Hornets more often at home in their league history without suffering defeat than versus any other side.
Watford have kept a clean sheet in consecutive away Premier League games for the first time since September 2017.
At 38 years & 329 days old, Watford's Ben Foster became the oldest visiting goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet against United at Old Trafford in the Premier League.
A step forward for Watfordpublished at 08:08 28 February 2022
08:08 28 February 2022
Image source, Getty Images
Simon Stone, BBC Sport
This result was nowhere close to being on the same scale as Watford's 4-1 success in the reverse fixture that triggered the dismissal of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. However, it will feel as though there is something more solid to build on.
Watford had gone 30 games without keeping a clean sheet when Roy Hodgson took over as manager - now they have three in six games, to go with the five points collected in the former England boss's short time in charge.
Emmanuel Dennis spurned their best chance but Hodgson will be delighted Ben Foster was not really stretched, with another former United player, Craig Cathcart, outstanding in the Hornets' defence.
It might not be pretty, but Hodgson will doubtless feel if his side can get to the period in the spring when they play four fellow relegation candidates in the space of six games, they will give themselves a chance of survival.
Man Utd 0-0 Watford: Hodgson reactionpublished at 18:02 26 February 2022
18:02 26 February 2022
Watford boss Roy Hodgson speaking to BBC Match of the Day:
“It’s always going to be hard-fought draw here.
“We have a real top-class goalkeeper, certainly Premiership class and possibly above that. If you going to play up here, as we did today with the team we had to put out, you are going to need Ben Foster because there is no way we can be good enough to restrict them to not even one chance in the game.
“The boys did as much as we could ask of them today. I’m really proud of their performance and they should be proud of their performance. I expected to go into the dressing room to see people leaping about with glee, but I didn’t see that. They obviously have very high expectations of themselves."
You'll be able to catch up with all the post-match reaction on this page after full-time.
Manchester United v Watford: Confirmed team newspublished at 14:13 26 February 2022
14:13 26 February 2022
Manchester United interim manager Ralf Rangnick makes four changes to the side that started the 1-1 Champions League draw at Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.
Anthony Elanga, who scored the equaliser for United in that game, is brought into the starting XI, along with Alex Telles, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Nemanja Matic.
Harry Maguire, Marcus Rashford, Luke Shaw and Jadon Sancho drop to the bench.
Man Utd XI: De Gea, Lindelof, Pogba, Ronaldo, Fred, Fernandes, Varane, Telles, Wan-Bissaka, Matic, Elanga.
Lawro's predictions: Man Utd v Watfordpublished at 17:10 25 February 2022
17:10 25 February 2022
Mark Lawrenson takes on Feeder bassist and Chelsea fan Taka in the latest round of Premier League predictions.
Lawro's prediction: 3-0
Watford won 4-1 when these sides met in November, which was the end of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as Manchester United manager.
Three months on and United still have issues. They put in another disjointed performance against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday, but got away with a 1-1 draw and are very much in that last-16 tie. Under Ralf Rangnick, they do seem to have a knack of getting a result without playing particularly well, but I still feel they need a really convincing performance soon.
We know what Hornets boss Roy Hodgson will do - concede possession but try to make his side hard to break down and leave little space for United's attackers to operate in, then attack on the break.
On his last three visits to Old Trafford, with Crystal Palace between 2018 and 2020, it worked extremely well. He won twice and drew the other one 0-0, but it's going to be hard for Watford to replicate those results. I don't see them holding out.
Taka's prediction: 1-1
This will be an exciting game, which will end in a draw. Watford need the points and United are so up and down.
'You want the fair winds, not the storm'published at 14:33 25 February 2022
14:33 25 February 2022
Image source, Getty Images
With just one win from their past 14 games, Roy Hodgson says confidence is low at Watford, but he hopes his side can reset before Saturday's game at Manchester United.
When asked if he believes he can pick his players up, Hodgson said: "It depends what you mean by confident.
"We are confident we can do a good job in preparing the team each week for the games. We are confident we have a group of players here who understand the gravity of the situation that we don't want to be relegated from the Premier League and know they are going to have to fight if that's not going to happen.
"I don't know where extra confidence comes from when you aren't winning matches and taking points. It's been a long spell now for Watford, both before we came and even in the brief time that we've been here, that those points have not been flowing in.
"Unfortunately, we've been steadily moving in the wrong direction rather than the right direction.
"After every game you need to reset the barometer and make certain that you have it pointing in the right direction. You want the fair winds and you don’t want the storm."
Hodgson on injuries, confidence and Man Utdpublished at 14:06 25 February 2022
14:06 25 February 2022
Roy Hodgson has been speaking to the media before Watford's Premier League match at Manchester United on Saturday.
Here are the key lines from the Hornets boss:
Joao Pedro and Juraj Kucka are back in contention and Joshua King has returned to training.
Hodgson has no fresh injury concerns but said he will leave his team selection to the last minute to give players time to properly recover from midweek.
On recent results, he said: "Unfortunately we’ve been moving steadily in the wrong direction instead of the right direction".
He added: "I don’t know where extra confidence comes from when you aren’t winning matches and taking points".
When it comes to the relegation fight, Hodgson said they are "confident we have players who understand the gravity of the situation".
On Manchester United, Hodgson said "the quality of the individuals is what worries you most because they have some of the most expensive players on the planet".
He added that United have been "quite good" and fairly steady under Ralf Rangnick.
Hodgson said Watford won't dwell on their 4-1 win over United in November because "past results have no effect whatsoever on future results".
Image source, Getty Images
