Gianfranco Zola speaks ahead of Hornets' clash with top-of-the-table Cardiff City
WATFORD Head Coach Gianfranco Zola is taking confidence from his side’s previous encounter with league leaders Cardiff City as the Hornets continue their quest for automatic promotion tomorrow (April 6).
The Bluebirds needed an injury time winner at the Cardiff City Stadium in October to win 2-1 against a Watford side who had taken a first-half lead through Tommie Hoban, but lost Daniel Pudil and Nathaniel Chalobah to red cards after the break.
Zola said: “It’s another good challenge, we have a team that is the top team and obviously we want to compete with them and try to beat them. It is also a team that we lost against in the first game and I believe we didn’t deserve to lose that game, so we’re going to be up for it. We know the importance of the game and we will prepare well. We felt like we didn’t deserve that defeat against them.
That day I believe we played very well and even if we were two men down we had the opportunity to score another one and that would have been fantastic for us, so I think it will be a good game.”
The Hornets go into the televised match eight points behind Malky Mackay’s side and just a point adrift of second-placed Hull City, following the crucial 1-0 victory at The KC Stadium on Tuesday.
Zola is under no illusions as to the test his side will face at Vicarage Road against a team who he believes are top of the npower Championship on merit.
“It is a team that’s got good players and above all they are very practical in what they do, so they manage to be in a position in which they deserve to be,” he said.
“It won’t be an easy game for us because obviously they don’t want to give anything away. Frazier Campbell’s done really well for them – he’s a good player, dangerous – and also Craig Bellamy. So they have a lot of good players and we will have to perform well against them. Maybe two more wins would be enough, so it’s nearly done for them and now it’s down to us to finish our job.”
Watford will certainly be without defender Fitz Hall, who suffered a hamstring injury on Tuesday, but midfielder Jonathan Hogg should return to the squad having missed out in midweek with a minor muscle strain.
Goalkeeper Manuel Almunia, who has missed the last six games with a hamstring injury, returned to training this week and should be available for selection.
There is a doubt over the fitness of Fulham loanee Matthew Briggs, who picked up a minor injury at Hull.
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