Back in the 1988/89 season, it was before the FA Cup had introduced extra time and penalties hence ties could be played over several replays before the tie was decided until there was a winner. When we came up against Watford in the third round of the FA Cup that season, the tie was decided over four games (three replays) over the course of eleven days.
In terms of recent history with meetings between these two sides, when we have come up against Watford, no team has scored more than two goals in one game in the last 23 meetings - the first of which dating back to April 1988.
Facts and Figures
All Competitions
Newcastle wins: 14
Draws: 14
Watford wins: 11
League
Newcastle wins: 12
Draws: 10
Watford wins: 8
League at St. James' Park
Newcastle wins: 9
Draws: 3
Watford wins: 3
Previous ten (all competitions)
Newcastle wins: 4 (13 goals)
Watford wins: 3 (11 goals)
Draws: 3
Biggest win (in this fixture)
Newcastle United 5 - 0 Watford (27/02/1932)
It's quite safe to say that this game was long before my time as a Newcastle fan but it's worth noting that our biggest win against Watford came while we were en route to winning our third of six FA Cups.
What I find quite strange is that my Grandma was born in that same year and she found it really interesting that I support Newcastle, the team that won the FA Cup the same year she was born. The last time we won the FA Cup was in 1955 when my Grandma was the age that I am now.
Biggest defeat (in this fixture)
Newcastle United 0 - 2 Watford (01/03/1980)
It can be argued that Watford, along with Burnley, have been the surprise packages of the season so far as the Hornets and the Clarets both find themselves in the top half of the table quite comfortably. Marco Silva, in my view, is an excellent manager and I am looking forward to his first visit to St. James' Park. After narrowly losing Hull City's fight against relegation last season after taking over when they were a write off for the drop, Silva is certainly impressing the football world in the middle of his first full season in English football.
As for Toon, a win does feel like quite some time ago as it came against Crystal Palace last month. After three defeats in a row coming against Burnley, Bournemouth and Man United, we have slipped into the bottom half of the table. In my opinion, I'm seeing Saturday's home encounter with Watford as a must win for the sake of confidence in the players. After playing rather well for the first half hour at Old Trafford last weekend, the second half performance and effort was less than impressive and I feel that a win against a good Watford team could do the trick in terms of regaining the confidence we had before this difficult run of results began.