TWO CHANGES: " CARDIFF CITY TEAM TODAY "

TWO CHANGES:

Brown in and NG back



Max Watters named on the bench today and he has certainly caught the eye in recent weeks



STARTING 11

Dillon Phillips
Perry Ng
Curtis Nelson
Sean Morrison
Aden Flint
Ciaron Brown
Will Vaulks
Joe Ralls
Harry Wilson
Josh Murphy
Kieffer Moore

SUBSTITUTES

Alex Smithies
Tom Sang
Leandro Bacuna
Marlon Pack
Jonny Williams
Junior Hoilett
Sheyi Ojo
Max Watters
Mark Harris

Two changes:


NG back & Brown starts

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Would have gone with Hoillet ahead of brown and pack for ralls. Also OJO for Murphy but who am I to question the great man. Come on city!

Good to see Ciaron Brown getting his chance from the start.

Surprised that Pack hasn't come back in for Ralls.

Other than that, a good team selection. Good to have Perry Ng back.

This will be a tough game, probably our toughest match since Mick took charge.

Hopefully the midfield and attack will play much better today, and we pass much better.

Would have gone with Hoillet ahead of brown and pack for ralls. Also OJO for Murphy but who am I to question the great man. Come on city!

See your thinking but I’m thinking Ralls’ extra mobility may be key, certainly for an hour or so.

Hopefully ralls has a better game today. He was poor last week-one of many though.

Good to see NG back.

Need a big performance today!

Shocked to see Ralls instead of Pack. Vaulks and Ralls to ponderous. Hope I am wrong.

Would have gone with Hoillet ahead of brown and pack for ralls. Also OJO for Murphy but who am I to question the great man. Come on city!

Me too. Thought Hoilett had a great game for the under23s midweek. Not sure how Brown who seems to be more a centre defender than a full back will do against what is likely to be a quick mobile Watford attack but good luck to Brown. Looks a strong bench for us hope Watters gets a chance.

Max Watters named on the bench today and he has certainly caught the eye in recent weeks

Cardiff City starlet Max Watters has caught manager Mick McCarthy's eye after impressing with four goals in two games for the under-23s over the last week.

The young striker has been prolific this season. He scored 16 goals in 19 games for League Two outfit Crawley Town before the Bluebirds snapped him up for a deal which could end up being worth around £1m.

It was something of a gamble, given the 21-year-old's journey has been a rollercoaster up to this point, but his form for Crawley saw him emerge has one of the hottest young prospects in the country.

Neil Harris urged patience when he signed, citing the almighty jump up to the Championship from League Two, and McCarthy has also been cautious with the amount of exposure he has afforded the striker.

McCarthy made the decision to drop Watters down to the under-23s in order for him to get some serious minutes under his belt, but also to work on a few key things assistant Terry Connor had identified.

But Watters, who scored twice in the 5-4 defeat by Charlton last week before netting twice again in the 4-0 win over Watford on Tuesday, has improved his play in what McCarthy terms the 'second six-yard box' and is reaping the rewards.

"He is much improved, certainly on the stuff me and TC spoke to him about, in terms of where he will get his goals," McCarthy said ahead of the clash with the Hornets this weekend.

"I know he had a few before, but where he will get his goals is in that second six-yard box. He scored four in the last two games.

"Between himself and Mark Harris, who also scored but doesn’t get a mention, the both of them have played better together. A better understanding of the position.

"That’s TC that does that work with them on a morning prior to training.

"You can certainly see an improvement."

Ciaron Brown has kept his spot on the left-hand side of defence, operating in a fairly unfamiliar left-back role. Looks as though Mick McCarthy has stuck to his word and resisted any temptation to play one ofe Joe Ralls, Junior Hoilett or Tom Sang out of position.

Brown's full league debut, so good luck to him!

Perry Ng comes straight back in on the right-hand side to bolster the side. That will be a big boost for McCarthy, who has raved about his performances since coming in.

Max Watters is restored to the bench after scoring four goals in the last two under-23s matches. We will have to see if he gets his chance at some point today.

Cardiff City XI: Phillips; Morrison, Flint, Nelson; Ng, Vaulks, Ralls, Brown; Wilson; Murphy, Moore.

Subs: Smithies, Sang, Bacuna, Pack, Williams, Hoilett, Ojo, Watters, Harris.





Watford XI: Bachmann; Femenia, Troost-Ekong, Sierralta, Masina; Hughes, Chalobah, Zinckernagel; Sarr, Pedro, Sema.

Subs: Foster, Ngakia, Lazaar, Wilmot, Cathcart, Sanchez, Hungbo, Gray, Success.