Brighton vs Watford preview

Nigel Pearson's men travel to East Sussex knowing a loss would be disastrous

It was just before 4pm on Sunday 12th January, the Watford players were leaving the pitch jubilant at the Vitality Stadium to the soundtrack of Hornets fans celebrating an emphatic 3-0 away victory. New songs were belting out in celebration of Nigel Pearson and cheeky banter was sent the way of arch rivals Luton Town as they faced a similar situation in The Championship.

It seemed the whole season had turned around under the management of Nigel Pearson as him and crowd favourite Nathaniel Chalobah punched the air to partisan cheers from the travelling supporters.

Troy Deeney and Abdoulaye Doucouré gave an interview to Sky Sports presenter Laura Woods about how they had played through pain to get the victory in a crucial match. The team spirit seemed to be at the highest we’ve seen it all season. 

It seemed positive again and in the week that followed a battling performance at home to Spurs added another point to the tally. 

A missed penalty from the skipper Troy Deeney in that game was punishing, just like the series of unfortunate events that followed in matches against Aston Villa, Tranmere Rovers and Everton, which have seen losses in devastating manners. In fairness, it was a committed performance from under 23’s in Merseyside but with an FA Cup final the season before it showed just how fast football can move. Two late goals in stoppage time in a row from winning positions have been incredibly frustrating from the hornet’s perspective. 

Watford seemed to be in control for both matches against Aston Villa and Everton. They will be cursing injury time in the coming matches. 

Ben Foster spoke to the Watford Observer about how they needed a ‘’a rocket up them’’ and Nigel Pearson’s post-match comments after the Everton match suggested it may of come back out. 

Every game for Watford now is a big match but no more so than this Saturday's against Brighton. 

The Hornets sit in 19th place, 3 points off the Seagulls in 16th.

A win would see them move out the relegation zone just before the winter break for 24 hours at least and leapfrog Bournemouth who sit in 17th place, who themselves have a massive match away at Sheffield United. A loss would be disastrous and the Hornets would go into the break on the back of 3 losses in a row with Manchester United and runaway leaders Liverpool to come at the end of February. 

Brighton vs Watford is a match that does not need hyping up if you support the Hornets or Seagulls. You only have to look at the bottom half of the Premier League table and it does the talking. It’s now up to the players to playout the latest chapter in the theatre that is the Premier League. 

Brighton vs Watford is live on BT Sport this Saturday and kicks off at 5:30pm.