Sheffield Wednesday
Match Preview: Wednesday V Watford
By Nicholas Rigg
October 17 2005
Wednesday will be desperate to gain three points to bring them out of the bottom three tommorow night against Watford. Aidy Boothroyd brings his hornets side up the M1 in a bid to regain the form that saw his side in the top 3 early in the season. The hornets haven't won in five games.
Wednesday V Watford
Date: Tuesday 18th October
Venue: Hillsborough, Sheffield
Wednesday go in to the game against Aidy Boothroyd's hornets knowing that these are the games they should be looking to win if they are to stay in the Championship.
Watford have got off to a decent start to the new campaign and currently stand in 7th in the the league. They were one of the bookmakers early favourites to struggle this season with the guidence of Boothroyd - a shock appointment at Vicerage Road last season and one of the the youngest managers in the game.
They looked set to take on that mantle after gaining just one point from their first two games including a home game against Preston and an away draw at Plymouth. After their slow start they then went on a great run of five victories and a draw which shot them up to third in the table.
Watford have struggled since then though, losing three games and drawing two which has seen them drop off the pace at the top to seventh place. A dissapointing home defeat to strugglers Leicester City at the weekend seems to show that it's going to be a rollercoaster season for the hornets.
It's also been a rollercoaster ride between the two sides when they have met in the league previously. Wednesday have surprisingly only won 12 meetings between the two sides whereas Watford have won 14, with 7 draws.
Wednesday are unbeaten in the last three games at Hillsborough, with the last meeting resulting in a 2-2 draw in 2003. Danny Maddix equalised for Wednesday in the last minute. The game that Wednesday fans will remember most is the 4-0 hammering of Watford in the League Cup in 2-1 when the Owls got to the semi-final stage before losing out to Blackburn. The last time the hornets won at Hillsborough was in early 2001 when they ran out 3-2 winners.
Watford have certianly made the most of their loans this season. Manager Aidy Boothroyd is currently swanning over the renewal of deals for Carl Fletcher (West Ham), Trevor Benjamin (Peterborough), and Gabriel Agbonlahor who will all be playing their final game against Wednesday if chosen. They also have Marlon King on loan from Nottingham Forest, and goalkeeper Ben Foster on loan from Manchester United.
One player who may catch the Wednesday fans eye will be Paul Devlin who used to play for Sheffield United. Let's hope the ex-United player bucks the trend and fails to put one over his ex-rivals unlike a certain Carl Asaba last month.
During the summer, Boothroyd has certainly signed players who are proven at this level. Malky Mackay signed on a free transfer from West Ham, and Clarke Carlisle signed for a bargain £100,000 from Leeds. Darius Henderson was rumoured to be signing for the Owls in the summer, but was snapped up by the Hornets for £450,000 and has scored 4 goals in 5 games so far this season but is unlikely to feature on Tuesday.
Paul Sturrock will have the same players who travelled to Plymouth available for selection, although there may be doubts over Glenn Whelen's fitness following his withdrawl at half time at the weekend. Chris Brunt may also be rested after his first start for Northern Ireland in midweek resulted in tired legs for the full 90 minutes on Saturday. Sturrock is unlikely to bring in a new striker before Tuesdays game.
Previous Line-Ups:
Wednesday: Lucas, Hills, Coughlan, Lee, Simek, Brunt, Whelan, Eagles (O'Brien 77), Rocastle, Peacock, Graham (Bullen 86).
Subs Not Used: Corr, Partridge, Wood.
Watford: Foster, Chambers, Mackay, Carlisle, Stewart (Doyley 45), Devlin (Grant 45), Mahon, Spring, McNamee, King, Young.
Subs Not Used: Chamberlain, Fletcher, Agbonlahor.
Head-To-Head:
Wednesday Wins: 12
Draws: 7
Watford Wins: 14
Current Form (last 5):
Lost (Millwall H 1-2), Draw (Luton A 2-2), Lost (Crystal Palace A 2-0), Won (Coventry H 3-2), Draw (Plymouth A 1-1)
Lost (Sheff Utd H 2-3), Draw (Crewe A 0-0), Lost (Coventry A 1-3), Draw (Leeds H 0-0), Lost (Leicester H 1-2)
Check out the Interview with our opposition fan here!!.......
Digg
Delicious
Facebook
Reddit
Stumbleupon