Going back to the very beginnings of this fixture, the first match between the two clubs came in the FA Cup in 1924 (a 1-0 win for the Toon). You would then have to fast forward 55 years to 1979 to witness the first league encounter as Watford sadly beat us 2-0. Back in the days before extra time came to fruition in the FA Cup, we had a bizarre cup tie against the Hornets by having to play them four times in the space of eleven days back in January 1989.

As far as recent history is concerned, Watford have won all of the past four meetings, including an FA Cup tie, since their return to the Premier League in 2015. Saturday’s match will see Javi Gracia come up against Newcastle for the first time in his career – that is assuming he is not going to be sacked before Saturday knowing the sacking culture that goes on at Watford. With a comfortable mid-table finish looking the most likely outcome for the Hornets, I doubt Javi Gracia would be given the chance to complete a full season at Vicarage Road considering that Watford were tenth when Marco Silva got given the sack.

Facts and Figures

All Competitions

Newcastle wins: 14

Draws: 14

Watford wins: 12

League

Newcastle wins: 12

Draws: 10

Watford wins: 9

League at Watford

Draws: 7

Watford wins: 5

Newcastle wins: 3

Previous ten (all competitions)

Watford wins: 4 (13 goals)

Newcastle wins: 4 (12 goals)

Draws: 2

Biggest wins

Watford 0 - 1 Newcastle United (23/02/1924)

Watford 2 – 3 Newcastle United (16/01/1982)

Watford 1 – 2 Newcastle United (09/03/1991)

Watford 1 – 2 Newcastle United (27/02/2010)

We have only ever collected four wins away from Vicarage Road from our twenty-one visits to the Hertfordshire club – all of which being by one goal.

Biggest defeats

Watford 4 - 1 Newcastle United (05/04/1986)

With safety not yet mathematically secured following our defeat to West Brom and Southampton’s win against their southern rivals, Bournemouth. Of course a draw would see us through to next season for sure but, in failing that, we will also achieve confirmed safety if Swansea and Southampton fail to beat Everton and Bournemouth respectively.

Following the poor showings against Everton and West Brom, the performances seem to suggest that the team are now on their holidays. However, to end this on a positive note, I would much prefer to be in this situation where we are more than likely to be safe and we have done what we needed to do with games to spare than to still be scrapping it out at the bottom. Those four consecutive wins have worked wonders for our season especially considering the wins against Southampton and Huddersfield who were around us at the time we played them. With teams having two or three games to go, we are three points clear of the bottom half where Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Watford find themselves. In addition to this, we have a superior goal difference.