April 2024, I previewed the away fixture for Watford talking about the miracle needed to reach the playoffs. Back then, Liam Rosenior’s star-studded squad needed 12 points from their remaining 4 games to make the play-offs. Fast-forward a year, and new boss Ruben Selles has a 3-point cushion over Cardiff City at the other end of the table with 6 games left. Quite the turnaround, but what chances do we have to avoid the drop?

Things have certainly improved a great deal under our new Spanish boss rather than the previous German. Whilst Walter recorded only 3 wins in 18, Selles already has 8 in 22; a win percentage more than double his predecessor. Then when you look at the remaining fixtures, Coventry are the highest placed of our remaining opponents, meaning we don’t play any of the current top 6. Concentrating on Tuesday night’s game, there are also some reasons to be hopeful of picking up a point or 3. Firstly, Watford are on a fairly poor run of only 1 win out of the previous 6. City have recorded 3 wins in the same period. Also, whilst Watford have a good home record, currently the 7th best in the division, The Tigers have the 7th best away record. Watford’s recent struggles have also come against teams at the bottom, losing to Oxford and drawing to Plymouth. Whilst this hasn’t helped City to pull away, it does suggest there’ll be a chance to come away with a positive result.

Many fans will remember THAT away game v Sheffield Wednesday with great fondness. Along with 8000 other City faithful, it was one of the best away games I’ve ever been too. Charlie Hughes’ 90+4 thumping headed winner may not be as iconic as Nick Barmby’s performance more than 20 years ago, but the 3 points it provided has certainly provided some welcome relief following some great results for the other teams at the bottom. This is no time to rest up, and if the MKM is to host Championship football again next season, you would imagine that the current form of 3 wins in the previous 6 will need to be maintained. Watford held City to a draw in Ruben Selles’ first game in charge, a 1-1 tie that saw Chris Bedia on the scoresheet for the Tigers. A low-scoring draw could perhaps be on the cards again considering that City have only managed 40 goals all season, and though Watford have fared better, top-scorer Bayo only has 10 goals and hasn’t scored since 14th January. A familiar face will likely start for the Hornets in Tom Ince, however, the winger has only scored once himself this season. In the host’s other team news, forward Kwadwo Baah is likely to be missing after going off injured in their previous game, but again, his paltry return of 4 goals in 26 matches is unlikely to be missed.

For City, the usual long-term absentees will again be missing, whilst I’d expect to see some rotation for the 2nd of City’s 3 games in 9 days. With relegation still a real possibility, I’m predicting a nervy performance. Watford have almost nothing to play for, so may well be the more relaxed of the two sides. However, the home fans could also provide a somewhat toxic atmosphere following the petering out of a season that started with much optimism after 3 consecutive wins. The safe money is likely to be on a draw.

Hull City possible starting lineup:
Pandur; McLoughlin, Hughes, Egan, Coyle; Puerta, Alzate, Amrabat, Lincoln, Gelhardt; Pedro

Watford 1 – Hull City 1