Watford Manager Javi Gracia claims his side will not simply roll over for the Reds as the Hornets aim to solidify their grip on seventh place.
Speaking in his press conference, Gracia showed no lack of ambition despite his side losing the reverse fixture 3-0. Gracia stated that, “I always want three points. I am never happy with one.”
“They [Liverpool] always play at a high level and, for us, it will be a different game. We always compete as best as possible. We know it’s a difficult away game, but we try to do our best and we are concentrated on that. We will have to be very demanding and we need to play the best way we can and this way maybe we have some chances to get a good result.”
Despite Gracia suggesting an offensive tactic, we’d be very surprised if the visitors didn’t set up extremely defensively – like even the best teams do at Anfield nowadays.
Watford will need to avoid the defensive mistakes made in previous matches against the Reds, with the Hornets historically unable to stop Jurgen Klopp’s free-flowing attacking football. Watford have set up in previous seasons with a back 3, which has proven for many teams to be a mistake against our attack – especially when Roma set up in a similar way in their 5-2 loss in the Champions League first leg at Anfield last season.
This season, Watford have used a more traditional 4-4-2 shape with inverted wingers, giving them much more defensive solidity. Indeed, the Hornets have conceded fewer goals than Arsenal this season,and the same number as Manchester United.
Though Liverpool have scored a total of 18 goals in their last 5 games against Watford, it will be tough to maintain that impressive scoring record tonight. Nevertheless, Watford will find it tough to handle the attacking quality we have at our disposal as we look to keep ourselves at the top of the table.