Watford and Everton head into Saturday's Premier League game at Vicarage Road with both needing to revive recent slumps in the top flight.
Quique Flores's side have not won any of their last five league games, while Roberto Martinez and his men are 12th in the table, 15 points adrift of a European place.
Watford
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The Hornets' objective when they returned to the Premier League from the Championship last summer was to maintain their status in the top flight, and they are close to doing so.
However, Flores and his team have suffered on the pitch of late having recorded one draw and four defeats in their last five top-flight games, which has put them 14th in the table, 10 points above the relegation zone.
Most clubs in the lower echelons of the Premier League tend to secure their safety by reaching the 40-point mark, and Watford are two points away from reaching their target, but have struggled to get there in the past few weeks.
Last Saturday, Flores described his players as "soft" in their game against Arsenal as they were forced to accept a 4-0 defeat at the Emirates, but their lack of goals is not a surprise.
During their five-game barren run, Watford have only managed to find the back of the net once and that was in a 2-1 defeat to Stoke City last month.
The four other results were a goalless draw with Bournemouth and defeats to Manchester United, Leicester City and Arsenal.
It was expected that the Hornets would be in the lower half of the table come the closing stages of the season, so they have done well to keep themselves out of a serious relegation battle, but should they continue to lose with just seven games left to play, it will not be a comfortable end to the campaign.
Recent form: WDLLLL
Recent form (all competitions): DLLWLL
Everton
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It has not been the rosiest of times in the blue half of Merseyside as Everton are way off their objective of finishing in a European spot this season.
They are currently 12th in the Premier League table, 15 points off a European place with eight games left to play and they have struggled in the top flight having lost their last three games on the trot.
The Toffees were dealt a double blow in their clash against West Ham United on March 5 - they lost Kevin Mirallas to a red card and relinquished a 2-1 lead inside 10 minutes to lose 3-2 at Goodison Park.
Since then, they were picked off by Arsenal 2-0 and last weekend were on the losing end of a 1-0 scoreline against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Leighton Baines has blamed Everton's recent results on a lack of chemistry within the squad. The left-back recently told the Liverpool Echo: "I just don't feel as though the chemistry is quite there with the team on the pitch at the moment, and it hasn't been for a while. We are maybe leaning too heavily on individuals to come up with something."
Speculation has been rumbling in the background about Martinez's long-term future at the club, indicating that his position may not be secure.
Rumours surrounding players have also been making the headlines, with one in particular - Romelu Lukaku. The Belgium international recently hinted to reporters that he will consider his future at the end of the season.
The striker has been linked to Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund and his former club Chelsea, and it would be a huge blow to Everton if they lost him as he has scored 25 goals in all competitions this season.
The Merseyside club have only managed to win nine of their 30 league games, and five of those victories came away from home, and out of the 51 goals that they have netted in the top flight this season, 22 have been scored on the road.
The one positive of their current situation is that they remain in the FA Cup and will face either Manchester United or West Ham in the semi-finals later this month.
Recent form: WLWLLL
Recent form (all competitions): WWLWLL
Team News
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Watford could welcome back Valon Behrami into the squad as he has been absent due to illness, while Joel Ekstrand is close to pushing for a place in the team.
Rene Gilmartin and Tommie Hoban remain long-term absentees, but Sebastian Prodl could keep his spot in defence, while Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo are likely to lead the attacking line.
As for Everton, Lukaku is expected to start as he searches for his 26th goal of the season.
John Stones, who has faced criticism in recent weeks, is likely to keep his spot at the centre of defence with Phil Jagielka.
Steven Pienaar, Tyias Browning and Tony Hibbert are the only injury concerns for Martinez.
Watford possible starting lineup:
Gomes; Nyom, Prodl, Cathcart, Ake; Abdi, Watson, Suarez, Capoue; Deeney, Ighalo
Everton possible starting lineup:
Robles; Coleman, Stones, Jagielka, Baines; McCarthy, Cleverley; Deulofeu, Barkley, Lennon; Lukaku
Head To Head
Watford and Everton played one another for the first time since 2007 on the opening day of the season on August 8, and nothing could separate the teams as they scored two goals apiece.
Miguel Layun opened the scoring in the 13th minute, but Ross Barkley cancelled out the goal by scoring one of his own in the 76th minute.
Ighalo looked to have won it for Watford in the 83rd minute, but Kone denied the visitors victory as he struck four minutes from time.
Prior to that result, Everton had won their last four meetings.
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We say: Watford 1-2 Everton
Both sides have struggled for goals of late, but there is determination from each to recover from a disappointing slump. While Watford have the advantage of playing on home turf, Everton have the players that can cause damage at Vicarage Road. As Baines recently mentioned, Martinez's men have not been clicking on the pitch, but they could spark a revival with a victory this weekend.
Danielle Joynson
