Watford

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Matthew Howarth, BBC Sport

West Ham controversially handed a start to Kurt Zouma, with boss David Moyes saying the social media video of the defender hurting his cat is being dealt with by the club as "a separate matter".

The Hammers needed extra time to beat non-league Kidderminster in the FA Cup on Saturday, and were non-existent as an attacking threat until late in the first half here when Said Benrahma hit the post.

Things failed to improve as a spectacle after half-time as West Ham struggled to penetrate Watford's organised defensive line, but the visitors began dropping deeper and deeper and eventually paid the price.

Tom Cleverley had a goal-bound effort brilliantly saved by Lukasz Fabianski late on, but Roy Hodgson's team rarely looked like salvaging anything from the game after falling behind.

They now find themselves three points off safety after Newcastle's win over Everton. Meanwhile, the Hammers leapfrog Manchester United into fourth after the Red Devils were held to a draw at Burnley.

Here's the full team news for West Ham versus Watford tonight and as mentioned Kurt Zouma starts for the hosts.

David Moyes makes eight changes to the side that edged past Kidderminster in the FA Cup on Saturday with Jarrod Bowen and Said Benrahma are the only other players to keep their place in the team.

Michail Antonio returns after missing the Kidderminster victory due to a late arrival back from international duty.

West Ham XI: Fabianski, Coufal, Dawson, Zouma, Cresswell, Soucek, Rice, Bowen, Benrahma, Fornals, Antonio

Subs: Areola, Yarmolenko, Lanzini, Vlasic, Noble, Diop, Fredericks, Johnson, Kral

Roy Hodgson makes two changes to the Watford team that earned a point at Burnley in his first game in charge of the Hornets.

Emmanuel Dennis returns from a one-match suspension, while Tom Cleverley also starts in midfield.

Joao Pedro and Ken Sema drop to the bench.

Watford XI: Foster, Femenia, Cathcart, Samir, Kamara, Kucka, Sissoko, Kayembe, Cleverley, Dennis, King

Subs: Bachmann, Ngakia, Louza, Joao Pedro, Masina, Sema, Kabasele, Kalu, Cucho Hernandez

Mark Lawrenson takes on Rolo Tomassi bassist and Arsenal fan James Spence in the latest round of Premier League predictions.

Lawro's prediction: 2-0

Watford got a point and a clean sheet against Burnley in Roy Hodgson's first game in charge but, with only one victory in their first 19 games, it is wins they need - and quickly.

It's going to be hard for them to get anything out of West Ham, though, especially if Michail Antonio is back for the Hammers.

The Hammers got away with one against Kidderminster in the FA Cup on Saturday, but they still won despite playing badly. I'd expect a big improvement from them here.

James's prediction: 3-1

The Hammers have stuttered a bit recently but I don't see Watford keeping them out.

Find out how Lawro and James think the rest of the midweek fixtures will go

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Michail Antonio returns to the West Ham squad having missed the FA Cup game with Kidderminster due to a late arrival back from international duty.

Arthur Masuaku and Manuel Lanzini are both absent due to injury.

Watford have top scorer Emmanuel Dennis available again after his one-match suspension.

Peter Etebo is nearing a return, but Nicolas Nkoulou is out and Ismaila Sarr is not yet back after Senegal's success in the Africa Cup of Nations final.

Who would you select if you were David Moyes?

Who should make Roy Hodgson's starting line-up?

• West Ham have lost just one of their last 11 midweek Premier League games (won six, drawn four), going down 2-0 at Arsenal in December.

• Watford have won 12 of their 63 Premier League games played on Monday to Friday (drawn 12, lost 39), with seven of these victories coming in their 21 games played on a Tuesday.

• The Hammers have lost their last two league games, last losing three in a row in June 2020. They’ve lost three Premier League games this season courtesy of 90th minute goals, with only Watford losing more games late on within a single campaign (four in 2017-18).

• Three of Watford’s five Premier League wins over West Ham have come away from home, winning in 2006-07, 2016-17 and 2018-19. Their seven away Premier League games against the Hammers have alternated between a defeat and a win each time, losing 3-1 in July 2020 on their last visit.

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Matt Rowson, BHaPPY, external

To the naive outsider, Watford’s 0-0 draw at Turf Moor on Saturday evening might have been of limited appeal. To the uninvested, a goalless encounter between two struggling sides in what might generously be described as challenging conditions (at one point all four corner flags were flattened but pointing in different directions) was perhaps best avoided.

Thing is, you don’t go to Burnley v Watford if you’re uninvested. Not even if you live in Burnley. Inside the stadium attention was focused avidly on the crashing and banging around on the pitch, particularly in the away end where the commitment required to brave the M6 in wind and rain for a 18:00 kick-off in east Lancashire required all regular standards and filters to be left at the door.  Having made this journey, not having fun was not an option.

And the outcome itself was easier to enjoy as an away fan than a home fan, I think, even if a draw feels like a missed opportunity for both sides. Indeed there was surely little joy to be gleaned for a home supporter who must surely have seen this as an opportunity to claim a second win of the season rather than a sixth 0-0 draw. For the Hornets, for whom obdurate defending and a rugged midfield was more of a novelty, a first clean sheet of the campaign is to be cherished.  We applauded as Samir dumped a clearance on top of the Bob Lord stand, cheered as Hassane Kamara flew into yet another decisive, violent tackle, marvelled at Edo Kayembe’s obstinate centre of gravity - a single point of calm as all others buffeted around him.

We might get relegated anyway. But at this stage, this point looks like a credible first step for Roy and Ray.

Image source, BBC Sport

Watford travel to London Stadium to face West Ham in the Premier League on Tuesday, knowing a win will lift the Hornets out of the bottom three.

Roy Hodgson's side kept their first clean sheet of the season against Burnley at the weekend - so would you stick with the same XI or make changes?

It's time to pick your Hornets team to face West Ham

You can listen to all nine Premier League midweek games through either BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra or via the website and app this week...

Tuesday, 8 February

• Newcastle v Everton (19:45) - 5 Live

• Burnley v Manchester United (20:00) - Sports Extra

• West Ham v Watford (19:45) – Online  

Wednesday, 9 February

• Tottenham v Southampton (19:45) – 5 Live

• Manchester City v Brentford (19:45) - Sports Extra

• Norwich v Crystal Palace (19:45) – Online

• Aston Villa v Leeds (20:00) - Online

Thursday, 10 February

• Liverpool v Leicester (19:45) – 5 Live

• Wolves v Arsenal (19:45) - Sports Extra

All times are GMT

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West Ham boss David Moyes has praised Roy Hodgson's great passion and love of football before Tuesday's game with Watford.

Hodgson has been in football management for the best part of 50 years and it's because of that Moyes believes Hodgson is the best man for the Hornets job.

"If there's anybody who can help Watford stay up, Roy Hodgson would be the name I'd pick," said Moyes.

"He's a really good coach and someone who's managed at all different levels. Watford have given themselves a really good chance of staying up.

"He's got a great passion, a love of the game and wants to stay out on the pitch. If anybody's good at it, Roy's good at it."

On Hodgson returning to the Premier League at the age of 74, Moyes added: "I don't think I'll be managing when I'm 74!

"His love for the game is incredible, and to have any level of success or longevity you have to have a huge love of the game. Roy has shown he's got that.

"I would hope I'm in the category of 'experienced' and Roy's certainly in the category of 'very good' and 'very experienced'."

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Roy Hodgson says he has not had chance to speak to Ismaila Sarr but is hopeful the Senegal forward may be back in contention for Saturday’s game against Brighton.

Sarr helped Senegal win their first Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday night, and Hodgson has only had the chance to see the 23-year-old playing football on TV since he became Watford manager.

“I’m really happy for him and I’m really happy for Senegal,” Hodgson said. “It was great to see them win, but now we badly need him back to help us win."

Sarr has not played for Watford since scoring in their win over Manchester United in November and the team have not picked up three points since he got injured.

“It looks like he’s fit as he’s been playing in the last two or three games, so there should be no problems there,” Hodgson added. “It looks like he’s fully recovered from his injury.

"If he’s back in time and recovered from his travels then we are hoping we might be able to use him."

Joe Bradshaw, BBC Sport

Roy Hodgson has been speaking to the media before Watford’s game at West Ham on Tuesday.

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Hodgson was delighted with the clean sheet and point against Burnley in his first game in charge, saying it was “a small step in the right direction”. He did admit, though, they “don’t just need one clean sheet, but need lots of them".

• He believes he has a really large complement of players available so it’s a question of deciding who gets to play: “Our job is to encourage them to believe in themselves and stick to principles that we think will help us stay up.”

• On Ismaila Sarr, who won the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal last night: “It’s a great achievement for Ismaila and I’m really happy for him. We’re hoping we’ll get him back as soon as possible.”

• He says his experience is important but there’s no “magic formula” to keeping teams in the Premier League: “We need to make sure everyone is pulling in the right direction as there is no easy way out. We need to work hard, train properly, know our jobs and be resilient when we need to be to try to get results.”

• On West Ham and boss David Moyes: “They’ve had an excellent season and a very good all-round team. I’ve always been impressed by David’s teams and he’s now found a club that seem to be taking full advantage of his management skills.”

Geoff Doyle, BBC Three Counties Radio

It wasn’t pretty. And it was pretty predictable. But in grinding out a scrappy goalless draw Roy Hodgson managed what three others before him couldn’t - a Premier League clean sheet.

Conditions which would have suited yachts rather than footballers made this an even more attritional game than it was always likely to be. But the signs were there that the Hodgson training round drills are already working.

As expected, 4-4-2 was the order of the day. Defensive players in the form of Ken Sema and Juraj Kucka played out wide and Watford were set up to be hard to break down. Which they were.

The return of Ben Foster in goal was a huge boost and all three of the early January signings - Samir, Hassane Kamara and Edo Kayembe - showed again they are an upgrade on what was there before.

Shutting down space, regimental shape, structure, organisation - it was classic Hodgson. It’s a start under the new manager and a decent one given the circumstances.

The tactic will be fine away to West Ham in the next match on Tuesday, but it may need an attacking tweak for the home game against Brighton on Saturday.

Ismaila Sarr might be back from the Africa Cup of Nations by then and Emmanuel Dennis will be available after suspension (as he will against the Hammers), so there are options.

It’s certainly something to build on.

Image source, Getty Images

• Burnley have won just one of their past 22 Premier League games (D10 L11), and have scored just two goals in their past seven matches.

• Watford kept their first league clean sheet of the season in what was their 21st game – only Blackburn in 2011-12 (28 games) and Norwich in 2011-12 (22 games) have taken longer to record their first shutout of a Premier League campaign.

• Roy Hodgson has failed to win his first Premier League game in charge with each of his past five clubs (D3 L2), since winning with Blackburn against Derby in August 1997 (1-0).

• No Premier League side is on a current longer winless run than Burnley and Watford, with both sides failing to win their past nine games in the competition.

• Watford’s Joao Pedro is 54 years and 48 days younger than Hodgson, the biggest gap in age for any player starting a match under a manager in Premier League history.

Simon Stone, BBC Sport

In the end, this game was a match neither side wanted to lose - and needed to get something out of as a platform to launch a survival push.

For Watford, it came in the form of a first clean sheet of the season. Indeed, it was a first in 31 Premier League matches.

For Burnley, there were signs that Wout Weghorst’s partnership with Maxwel Cornet could solve their goalscoring problems.

It may be a while before we find out if either of these two factors can help in a relegation battle. But Sean Dyche and Roy Hodgson still have time.

Watford manager Roy Hodgson: "It's a really difficult place to come. I don't think many will look forward to games against Burnley. I thought we probably did enough today to come away with a victory. I'm pleased with the way the players went about their work. They showed great spirit, great determination and I think they showed everybody that they still care very much and they rolled their sleeves up. If you don't work hard here at Burnley, you get nothing."

On the clean sheet: "It is significant. We know unless we defend in the way we did today - being compact and aggressive in our pressing - then you won't get clean sheets in the Premier League. I thought this was a stern test after only 10 days with the players and I thought they dealt with it very well."

On the penalty shout: "I know the players close to the incident felt it was but from where I was, on the other side of the field, I couldn't see. It's one of those things that happen in football. You have to get over those injustices. I think the players at Watford deserve an awful lot of praise in that respect today."

On the relegation battle: "When you fall behind in this league you are playing catch-up. The only way to recover is win matches. We are not underestimating the task. It has given me a lot of encouragement that this time does have the fight, the ability to organise themselves and come away from Burnley with points."

January signing Wout Weghorst makes his full debut for Burnley, who make just two changes from the draw at Arsenal.

Maxwel Cornet and Dale Stephens also come in. Josh Brownhill, Jay Rodriguez and Matej Vydra drop out.

Burnley XI: Pope, Pieters, Tarkowski, Mee, Roberts; McNeil, Stephens, Westwood, Lennon; Cornet, Weghorst.

Subs: Hennessey, Norris, Lowton, Cork, Rodriguez, Collins, Bardsley, Long, Thomas

Image source, BBC Sport

Roy Hodgson has made four changes for his Watford bow after the defeat to Norwich.

Ben Foster, Ken Sema, Craig Cathcart and Jurej Kucka replace Daniel Bachmann, Christian Kabasele, Emmanuel Dennis, and Tom Cleverley.

Watford XI: Foster; Sema, Kamara, Cathcart, Femenia; Samir, Sissoko, Kucka, Kayembe; King, Joao Pedro

Subs: Bachmann, Ngakia, Ekong, Louza, Cleverley, Mesina, Fletcher, Kabasele, Hernandez

Image source, BBC Sport