Newcastle United travel to Vicarage Road this weekend to face Quiche Sanchez Flores’ high-flying Watford side in the third round of the Emirates FA Cup.
The newly promoted Hornets have been one of the Premier League’s runaway success stories this season, and Flores’ enterprising side look nailed on to secure their Premier League status, as they sit in 9th place, with an impressive 29 points already on the board.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Steve McClaren’s ailing Newcastle side. The Magpies have performed in fits and starts this season, however, three successive 1-0 defeats mean that they head into Saturday’s tie sitting in the relegation zone, two points adrift from 17th place Swansea City.
As Wigan Athletic demonstrated with their unprecedented FA Cup triumph back in 2013, the domestic cup competitions can offer a welcome reprieve for teams that are struggling in the league – and McClaren will hope his floundering side can overcome their goalscoring woes by giving the Toon Army something to shout about this weekend.
Ahead of the game, we decided to piece together a combined XI of players from Newcastle and Saturday’s opponents Watford.
The formation is 4-2-2-2.