Watford vs Tottenham - as it happened: Harry Kane and Dele Alli both see double as Spurs cruise to victory
Re-live all the action from Vicarage Road
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KICK-OFF: 13:30, Sunday 1 January 2017
TV: Live on Sky Sports 1
Teams...
Watford (3-4-2-1): Gomes; Kaboul, Prödl, Cathcart; Zúñiga, Capoue, Guedioura, Holebas; Amrabat, Doucouré; Deeney.
Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Trippier, Alderweireld, Wimmer, Rose; Dier, Wanyama; Son, Alli, Eriksen; Kane.
Follow the live action below...
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It’s a big game for…
Younes Kaboul. The Frenchman plied his trade for Sunday’s visitors for five years and will want to get one up on his old club. Watford haven’t kept a clean sheet since their 1-0 win against Hull back in October, and Kaboul would love to end that streak here today.
Best stat…
29. The last time Watford triumphed against Tottenham was 29 years ago back in the 1986/87 season, when the Hornets secured a 1-0 home win. Despite seeming like a long while, it’s only ten games without a win. Only.
Remember when…
A Kieran Trippier goal just after the hour helped Spurs claim a 1-0 win in their last meeting.
Player to watch…
Troy Deeney. The Watford striker racked up his 100th goal for the Hornets in the 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace and will be keen to build on it. That was his first goal since October and now he needs to spearhead the Watford attack by picking up some momentum by way of goalscoring.
Past three meetings…
Tottenham 1 (Trippier) Watford 0, Premier League, February 2016
Watford 1 (Ighalo) Tottenham 2 (Lamela, Son Heung-Min), Premier League, December 2015
Watford 0 Tottenham 1 (Van der Vaart), FA Cup, January 2012
Form guide…
Watford: LLWLLD
Tottenham: LWWLWW
Odds…
Watford to win: 19/4
Tottenham to win: 7/10
Draw: 11/4
Good afternoon and welcome to our live coverage of this afternoon's Premier League football. Arsenal and Spurs are both in action, with both looking to close the gap on league leaders Chelsea. The Gunners are at home to Crystal Palace later, but first it's Watford against Spurs - team news to come in a few moments.
Tottenham travel to Vicarage Road on the back of a 4-1 win over Southampton on Wednesday, and they know victory here will take above Arsenal - at least for a few hours - into third place.
Watford, meanwhile, are looking for their first win in four games. It's been an inconsistent season so far for Walter Mazzarri's men. They haven't beaten Watford in the league since May 1987.
A quick reminder of the teams. For Watford, Craig Cathcart makes the starting line-up for the first time since September and Abdoulaye Doucoure makes his first Premier League start of the season.
Watford: Gomes; Kaboul, Prödl, Cathcart; Zuniga, Capoue, Guedioura, Holebas; Amrabat, Doucouré; Deeney. Subs: Pantilimon, Sinclair, Ighalo, Kabasele, Mason, Stewart, Rowan.
Pochettino has made four changes for Spurs, with Toby Alderweireld and Son Heung-Min coming into the side, as well as Kieran Trippier and Kevin Wimmer.
Tottenham: Lloris, Trippier, Alderweireld, Wimmer, Rose, Dier, Wanyama, Eriksen, Alli, Son, Kane. Subs: Vorm, Carter-Vickers, Davies, Dembele, Winks, Sissoko, Janssen.
'This is a difficult place'
Pochettino certainly playing up the importance of this game for Spurs.
"To go third is a big motivation. We know this is a very difficult place but we come from Southampton after a very good performance and now we want a repeat."
'If I score, perfect'
Watford's Etienne Capoue on facing his former club:
"They like to have the ball all game so it is difficult for us. They are always near the top. It is like two leagues in one league. We have to be very compact. I am focused on what I have to do. If I score, perfect, I will enjoy it. 2016 was a good year for us. We are doing well this season."
Spurs won 2-1 at Vicarage Road almost exactly a year ago. Son scored the winner that day - will history repeat itself today?
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