BURTON Albion will face Premier League side Watford at Vicarage Road this afternoon in the third round of the FA Cup.
The two sides have never met before in a competitive fixture with Watford currently finding themselves in 14th position in the Premier League after 20 games.They come into the game having not won since they played Everton on December the 10th when they beat Everton 3-2 thanks to two goals from Stefano Okaka and one from Sebastian Prodl.
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Midfielder Etienne Capoupe is their leading scorer with five goals so far in the Premier League with club skipper Troy Deeney one goal behind with four.
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Watford are currently struggling with nine injuries and are expected to be without the likes of Valon Behrami, Juan Zuniga, Nordin Amrabat, Daryl Janmaat, Isaac Success, Roberto Pereyra, Stefano Okaka, Adrian Mariappa and Brice Dja Djedge.
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Watford defender Christian Kabasele said ahead of the game: “We are looking forward to the game
“We’re not in a good period with a lot of injuries and not winning games, but this could be a good boost for us if we can get through this round.
“We are lucky because we face a team from a lower level, but there’s no easy game in the cup. We saw that against Gillingham, and so we will be focused as when we would play against any team in the league.”
Albion come into the game after a 1-0 defeat to Preston on Monday and will be looking to carry some positive momentum into their next league game against Wigan next Saturday.
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Manager Nigel Clough said ahead of the tie: “We’d love a cup run, we believe that if you go on a good cup run you can bring that into your league form. I am sure the supporters will be wanting the same to give them a chance to visit even bigger grounds.
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“We aren’t sure on the sort of team that they will put out due to them having several injuries, so it’s hard to prepare for in that aspect. We have a few knocks ourselves, whoever is put out there has an opportunity. We will certainly go there with the intention to win the game and if we can’t win it we will take a replay back home.
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"A few years ago we were in the qualifying rounds and our aim was just to get to the first round, that just shows how far the club has come. It is strange for the club to be in the third round automatically, the draw hasn’t been too kind to us but we believe we can get something from it."
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He also revealed a few injury concerns for the Albion: “Brayford should be ok after missing Monday, we didn’t take a risk as it was a head injury, Turner it may come too soon for him but is progressing well. Jackson Irvine has a groin strain so we will only risk him if we need to. Will Miller has had a hamstring issue but was back in training midweek.”
Watford FC have provided Burton Albion FC with the following documents to help Albion fans today:
Watford FC Access Statement
Visiting Vicarage Road
Visiting Supporter Information
Tickets are not available on the day for Albion supporters.