The Premier League match will be set aside when Fulham hosts Watford in the third round match of the FA Cup at Craven Cottage on Thursday night.
The two sides faced each other for the last time in the top tier in April 2019 when the Hornets claimed a 4-1 win over their rivals at home.
Well-travelled Fulham have yet to get their first taste of victory in the current Premiership season; in fact, qualification to the next round may well depend on the fitness of Erik Nevland as the Cottagers have registered only six draws in eight start-up games, and in the most recent one last Sunday with Ipswich Town ending in a 2-2 deadlock.
Fulham (9) Along with Brighton & Hove Albion (10), no other side in this season’s top tier has ended their matches in a draw. Raul Jimenez bagged two second-half penalties enough to allow the Cottagers level from a trailing position twice against the Tractor Boys.
After the match, Marco Silva expressed his anger and stated that a referee Darren Bond did not meet the standards of the English Premier League when, in the first half, Leif Davis touched the ball with his hands as the last man and escaped scolding. However, as of this season Fulham is holding a ninth position in the table but they are only six points away from the top four.
To win it this year, before favourable-looking league fixtures against West Ham United and Leicester City, Fulham will try to reach the fourth round of the FA Cup for the sixth consecutive season when playing Watford at home.
The 1975 runners-up have moved from 13 third round matches of the last one and have moved from all the previous four FA Cup ties against the lower-level teams, but they have not won their six competitive previous games against Watford (D3 L3) and have let in 14 goals.
Following a sequence of four losses in their past five games, Watford has dropped out of the playoff spots and into ninth place after having a strong start to their third straight Championship season.
The Hornets had lost 2-1 at home to Sheffield United last weekend, and they have lost three straight games to Cardiff City, Queens Park Rangers, and Sheffield United. They have also lost all seven of their previous games without keeping a clean sheet.
Although they have games against Cardiff, Derby County, and Preston North End later this month, they will focus first on the FA Cup, where they finished second twice in 1984 and 2019.
Watford has only advanced from one of their last five FA Cup third-round matches, a 2-1 victory over Chesterfield the previous season, but they have won three of their last four encounters with Fulham and have won all three of their previous trips to Craven Cottage, so there is cause for optimism that they will succeed on Thursday.
Silva will think about switching up his lineup and decide whether to continue with a three-at-the-back formation or switch back to a four-man defense. Two players who will be vying to start at the back are Ryan Sessegnon and Jorge Cuenca.
Smith, Emile After making two substitute appearances since he recovered from his injury, Rowe might be given a midfield start, and attacking players Adama Traore and Rodrigo Muniz will be looking to push their way into the starting lineup.
Daniel Bachmann, Watford's goalie, might be out for up to three months due to an ankle ligament damage he suffered in the last moments of last weekend's loss to Sheffield United. For this reason, Jonathan Bond will start in goal.
While fellow midfielder Imran Louza recovered from illness to play the entire 90 minutes last time out, Tom Dele-Bashiru is getting closer to making a comeback from a knee injury but is still dubious.
