Watford

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Watford boss Tom Cleverley said the injury to Kwadwo Baah and a poor refereeing decision were key factors in the 2-1 defeat away against play-off rivals Bristol City.

The influential winger suffered another hamstring injury in the first half and had to come off, but Cleverley hoped it would not see him sidelined for long.

Cleverly told BBC Three Counties Radio: "The start of the game was excellent. We had a gameplan to get our wide players in dangerous positions and we looked a real threat in the first 15 minutes. We really started on the front foot.

It was disappointing when KB [Kwadwo Baah] had to come off. We lost some attacking output. They smelt a change in the game then.

"James Abankwah hasn't put a foot wrong since he's been at the club but he made a mistake and that will happen with young players. We'll have to rally around him. We can teach him that it can go to row Z at times.

"The second goal was hugely disappointing; you don't like poor refereeing decisions to decide big games. It's definitely out of play - there's not much more I can say about that.

"They are a good side. Liam [Manning] has done a terrific job with them. It was a stalemate of a game, but I was pleased about how we continued to try to test them and knock down the door. But it was too much of a mountain to climb at 2-0 down."

Bristol City host Watford in a game which could have a significant impact on the play-off race on Saturday (15:00 BST).

Liam Manning's men sit eighth but outside the top six on goal difference alone, with fifth-placed Coventry only two points ahead.

A win would take the Robins seven points clear of the ninth-placed Hornets with six games remaining, but defeat would close the gap to just a point in a congested battle for the two final play-off spots.

• Bristol City have won just two of their past 11 league games against Watford (D5 L4), a 2-0 home win in January 2013 and a 4-1 away victory in December 2023.

• Watford are looking to complete a league double over Bristol City for the first time since the 1998-99 campaign.

• Bristol City have won seven of their past nine home league matches (D1 L1) and have only conceded five goals across these games.

• Watford scored fewer goals than any other side in the Championship in March (2), despite having the sixth-most shots of any side (64).

• Only Middlesbrough's Finn Azaz (77) has created more chances in the Championship this season than Watford's Giorgi Chakvetadze (73).

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Young striker Mamadou Doumbia has provided more good news for Watford boss Tom Cleverley by coming through a week of full training ahead of their trip to Bristol City on Saturday.

The 19-year-old from Mali, who is still waiting for his first senior goal for The Hornets, has not played since limping off with a hamstring injury against Millwall on 8 March.

But he will be in contention for a place at Ashton Gate and Cleverley also expects defender Kevin Keben back for the home game against Hull City on Tuesday.

Watford are ninth in the Championship, four points outside the play-off places, following last weekend's disappointing goalless draw with Plymouth Argyle.

Kwadwo Baah returned from injury with a 30-minute run-out against Argyle, and Cleverley expects him to play an even bigger part against Bristol City.

"Has he got 90 in his legs? I'm not sure. But he's certainly got 60 or 70," he told BBC Three Counties Radio.

"We've recovered a lot in the last couple of weeks, and at the right time of the season."

Cleverley said facing Bristol City, the team immediately above them, was the type of game that "makes you really hungry to be in football".

He added: "Beautiful stadium, two good teams, I'm really excited for the challenge that lies ahead and the weather is an added bonus.

"It's not over until it's mathematically over but this game is very significant for us, especially after not winning the last home game. It puts even more on this that we must go and win.

"The teams in and around us, we have a good record against. They look like a team who are very well coached, they problem-solve on the pitch and have been playing this 3-4-3 style very well."

Geoff Doyle
BBC 3CR sports editor

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It's that time of the year when divisional teams of the season are named and from Watford, Giorgi Chakvetadze is likely to be the only player in contention for a place in that XI.

There have been other solid performers in the Hornets squad, and a few more may have had a chance if they had been playing all season.

But Chakvetadze has consistently delivered across the season. He's been a constant threat and the amount of poor games he's had you could probably count on one hand.

He leads the Championship in terms of distance carried by a huge stretch (10,276m with Leeds' Joe Rodon second on 8,427m) and the same goes for distance progression (5,839m against 5,148m by Rodon), both of which he's led from start to finish.

Many of these runs have ended with chances (he's second in this particular metric with 73; Middlesbrough's Finn Azaz leads on 77).

The stats are very impressive and tell us that with the ball at his feet Chakvetadze is the best in the division at breaking lines and getting into the final third.

Tom Cleverley has compared him to Manchester City's Jack Grealish. I actually think he's a better ball-carrier than Grealish who offers superior technique in many other skill-sets. Grealish's team-mate Savinho is maybe a better comparison.

To take himself to the next level, though, Chakvetadze has to add the final piece of the jigsaw - goals and assists.

He does create a lot of chances and you wonder if he was in a better side with superior forwards would his assists total be higher? That could be argued, but what can't and what he needs to work on, which he and his coaches will know, is the goals column.

Two in 38 isn't enough for someone of his undoubted talent. Technique in striking a ball under pressure can be questioned but Cleverley feels it's more about mindset - and that is something they are working on.

Chakvetadze, I'm sure, will become a Premier League player but those clubs that are likely to be watching him now will have reservations about these goal stats and they could decide which level of team he plays for at the next level.

That said, in an odd season where there haven't been many outstanding attacking players (defenders Maxime Esteve and CJ Egan-Riley plus midfielders Vinicius Souza, Ao Tanaka and Josh Brownhill will be bang in contention for player of the season), Chakvetadze could still make that Championship best XI.

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Boss Tom Cleverley said he had to get angry during the half-time break of Watford's scoreless draw with bottom-of-the-table Plymouth Argyle.

"We wasted 45 minutes against a team that we're good enough to beat," Cleverley told BBC Three Counties Radio.

"We didn't play with enough tempo, enough desperation to score, enough penetration and there were too many unforced errors.

"There has to be a determination to break down that back line and I didn't see that. It's not just going to happen, you have to make it happen.

"The second half was how we should play. It was a more entertaining style, more direct, no mistakes. It's a bit of a head scratch how the ball's not found its way into the net, but that's the way it's been going for us.

"I've a lot of admiration for our second-half performance - how the players reacted to a bit of a rocket at half-time.

"There have only been two or three rockets this season. I feel the players are mentally strong enough to take them, otherwise I wouldn't do it.

"It probably wasn't my character when I was a player but I have developed it. It's a stressful job."

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Watford boss Tom Cleverley says goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann will have to "be patient" after returning to fitness following an ankle ligament injury.

The Austrian was first-choice for Watford, making 22 appearances this season before suffering the injury near the end of their 2-1 defeat by Sheffield United on 4 January.

It prompted the Hornets to sign Norway's Egil Selvik from Udinese at the end of the transfer window and he has made a good impression with four clean sheets in eight games so far.

"Selvik's been fantastic since he came to the club, hand in hand with our defensive record improving a lot with James Abankwah and the change to a back four," Cleverley told BBC Three Counties Radio.

"I'm really pleased with what Selvik's done and the other two, Bachmann and (Jonathan) Bond, will have to be patient."

Watford are five points outside the play-off places going into Saturday's lunchtime kick-off home game against Plymouth Argyle, with Abankwah suspended following his red card in the 1-0 defeat at Oxford United.

Cleverley is pleased there are no fitness issues affecting those players who have been away on international duty.

"We've had eight or nine away and it's unusual really because normally we have seven or eight playing all the games and all the minutes for their countries, but that wasn't the case this time," he said.

"Physically, it wasn't as demanding for the guys - there was a lot of long travels but they've all come back in good spirits, so I can uncross my fingers now."

Watford return to Championship action at home to Plymouth on Saturday (12:30 GMT) with a five point gap separating them from the play-off places.

Plymouth are six points adrift of safety so there is plenty at stake at Vicarage Road.

• Watford are unbeaten across their past five league games against Plymouth Argyle (W2 D3), keeping three clean sheets during that time.

• Plymouth Argyle have lost just one of their past five away league games against Watford (W2 D2), conceding just three goals across those visits to Vicarage Road.

• After losing each of their five home league games between late December and early February, Watford have now won two of their past three at Vicarage Road, while keeping a clean sheet in both wins.

• Plymouth won their last away league game 2-1 against Portsmouth, and will be looking to win successive away matches in England's second tier for the first time since April 2010.

• Plymouth have conceded 77 goals this season, the most of any side in the Championship. Only three times previously have the Pilgrims conceded more goals after 38 games of a Football League campaign (86 in 1946-47 & 1959-60 and 79 in 1954-55).

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Midfielder Kwadwo Baah is back fit and ready to play a "significant part" for Watford in their Championship match with Plymouth on Saturday according to boss Tom Cleverley.

Baah has not featured since being forced off 15 minutes into their 2-1 home defeat by Preston on 21 January because of a thigh injury.

"When someone has had two months, or two-and-a-half months out, I have to be careful that I don't go bang," Cleverley told his pre-match press conference., external

"He is ready to play a significant part on Saturday which is a huge boost to us all. Kwadwo is someone that turns a lot of our control and possession into goalscoring opportunities."

The 22-year-old joined Watford from Rochdale in 2021 and has scored four goals in 25 Championship appearances this season.

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Watford forward Giorgi Chakvetadze was among the scorers for Georgia as they retained their place in Uefa Nations League B with victory over Armenia.

Georgia ran out 6-1 winners in Sunday's second leg in Tbilisi to take the tie 9-1 on aggregate.

Chakvetadza scored the home side's third goal as they raced to a 5-0 lead by half time.

The midfielder has now scored 10 goals for his national side and will return to Championship action with Watford on Saturday when they continue their challenge for a play-off place at home to Plymouth Argyle.

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Watford forward Rocco Vata made his international debut as the Republic of Ireland came from behind to beat Bulgaria 2-1 in the first leg of their Uefa Nations League play-off.

The 19-year-old appeared as a 79th-minute substitute in Plovdiv, replacing Jason Knight, and was shown a yellow card within minutes of stepping on the pitch.

Vata joined Watford from Celtic in July and has scored three Championship goals in 25 appearances, 17 of them as a substitute.

The Republic of Ireland need to avoid defeat by Bulgaria in the second leg in Dublin on Sunday to retain their place in Nations League B.

Geoff Doyle
BBC 3CR sports editor

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Watford will probably need to win six of their last eight games to make the Championship play-offs. That task seems unlikely so they may have to settle for a top 10 finish - the lack of squad depth is likely to cost them.

Watford have as strong an 11 as most in the Championship and some top players in the form of Giorgi Chakvetadze, Kwadwo Baah, Imran Louza and James Abankwah but dig down a bit and the quality is not quite there.

It's most apparent in the striker department. There aren't many number nines who are going to finish the season with over 15 goals in the league. The traditional number nine position seems to be getting more difficult to master than ever before and Watford have suffered more than most up top recently.

Vakoun Bayo has 10 for the season but four of those came in one match and he hasn't scored since mid-January. When he returned from suspension last month 19-year-old Mamadou Doumbia was chosen ahead of him.

Doumbia is a raw and exciting talent and could be the answer to Watford's nine problem but even he failed to score in the six matches he started although he did win penalties and provide assists.

Watford have started their last two matches without a recognised striker with Bayo on the bench. With several other key players missing the thin squad hasn't got Watford as close to the top six positions as they would have liked.

The injury to Baah has had the greatest impact. Watford don't possess any other player with the raw pace and ability to go past players like him in the final third.

If it's not to be this season Tom Cleverley can still hold his head high. There were relegation predictions at the beginning of the season and the Watford boss had to endure a turbulent period in January where it looked like he'd been replaced, so to get them where he has has been a fine effort.

Watford aren't far off being a credible promotion-chasing side. With three or four quality additions you would fancy their chances next season but that's as long as they keep their own four or five top performers.

With Premier League parachute payments a distant thing of the past that seems unlikely with the Hornets owner, once again, likely to want to balance the books.

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Watford boss Tom Cleverley says his side are playing better than results suggest after a 1-0 defeat at Oxford United left them five points behind the Championship play-off spots.

Cleverley, who became the first Hornets boss since 2019 to reach a year in charge this week, told BBC Three Counties Radio: "I'm getting a little bit sick of disappointment, to be honest, when I don't feel my team are playing as poorly as the results maybe show.

"Why are we not winning the games we're in full control of? Millwall, Oxford, Stoke.

"It's a conundrum I need to solve on how we turn all this control and good play into wins because no-one wants to see a team that are playing great football but not winning matches, especially at this stage of the season.

"It wasn't a pitch where you can play the football we normally do but we saw out the first 20 minutes, lively wind affecting the play, then I thought we were in absolute control.

"If I can level any criticism at the lads today, we weren't clinical enough - 16 shots and none on target in the second half and that's why ultimately we've not won the game."

Oxford United have failed to win any of their past nine league games as they prepare to face Watford on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

Watford have won three of their past five Championship matches, leaving them four points short of the play-off places.

• Oxford have won just two of the past 27 games between the two sides in all competitions (D12 L13) and are winless in their last seven against the Hornets (D2 L5).

• Watford are unbeaten in their past 15 away games in all competitions against Oxford (W5 D10) - this is their first visit to the U's since a 1-1 League Cup draw in September 2020.

• Oxford have lost their past two home league games, they haven't lost more consecutively since a five-game losing run in February and March 2023.

• Watford have kept a clean sheet in their last two away league matches; the Hornets have not kept three clean sheets in a row since January and February 2021.

• Oxford boss Gary Rowett has won his past two league meetings with Watford, beating them 3-0 at home and 2-0 away in 2022-23 when he was in charge at Millwall.

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Watford boss Tom Cleverley says his side need to improve their game management as they prepare for "nine finals" to reach the Championship play-offs.

The Hornets are four points behind the top six after a 1-0 win over Swansea City at Vicarage Road on Wednesday night.

Moussa Sissoko's emphatic finish after Tom Ince pounced on Goncalo Franco's loose pass gave Watford victory, but Cleverley was critical of a second-half performance in which they almost gave up the lead.

"I don't think it's sustainable to be honest, how we're managing the games," he told BBC Three Counties Radio.

"I'm quite angry with how we managed the game - the application from pretty much everyone is to the maximum of what it needs to be and I just think we can manage the game better.

"We can't keep putting these games to chance because again the first-half performance was fantastic and the second-half performance, we looked like a team that's tired and making poor decisions.

"We need to address it as soon as possible because the first-half performances are too good to go unrewarded.

"We have to demand more from ourselves because to reach our goals then I am not sure if the second half performance would help us do that."

On whether Watford can still reach the play-offs this season, Cleverley added: "We just need one big push now on Saturday [at Oxford United] to get to the international break in a good position and it's going to take all of our effort.

"Nine finals. We'll tick them off one by one."

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Watford striker Mamadou Doumbia has been ruled out for a "few weeks" after suffering a hamstring injury in Saturday's defeat at home to Millwall.

Ahead of the Hornets' midweek clash with Swansea City, head coach Tom Cleverley confirmed he will be without the 19-year-old until after the international break.

"It's disappointing for the player," Cleverley told BBC Three Counties Radio.

"It'll be a few weeks so we'll miss Mamadou for the next couple of games certainly and we'll assess more in the international break."

Doumbia was clearly distraught when he went off in the 56th minute of Saturday's 2-1 loss.

"He's been so patient, he's worked so hard and the shirt was his for the time being," added Cleverley.

"When you do get a slight niggle, you give up the shirt up to someone else. There was probably a lot of things going through Mamadou's head, but he's a great professional and I'm sure he'll come back stronger."

Cleverley also confirmed club captain Daniel Bachmann, Pierre Dwomoh and Kwadwo Baah were between seven and 10 days from returning to first-team training.

Watford's defeat by Millwall on Saturday ended a three-match unbeaten run and they are six points off the play-off places as they prepare to host Swansea City on Wednesday (19:45 GMT).

The Swans are on their own three-game streak without defeat which has included wins over Blackburn and Middlesbrough.

• Watford have won just two of their past eight league games against Swansea City (D1 L5), scoring more than one goal in just one of those matches.

• Swansea City have lost just one of their past four away league games against Watford (D1 L2), a 2-0 defeat in May 2021.

• Watford are winless in their past four midweek league games (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday), losing three of them (D1).

• Swansea have kept a clean sheet in two of their past three away league games (W1 D1 L1), as many as in their previous 22 league matches on the road (W6 D5 L11).

• Swansea are winless in their past four midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) league games (D1 L3), this after winning four in a row immediately beforehand.