Watford boss Javi Gracia says Saturday’s Premier League home match against Huddersfield is the “most difficult game” for his side.
The Hornets, currently seventh in the table after a 2-0 win at Wolves last week, host 19th-placed Huddersfield who are yet to record a top-flight victory so far this season.
However, the Terriers recorded back-to-back wins over Watford last term, and Gracia believes that David Wagner’s side have been unlucky and expects a “very, very demanding” game at Vicarage Road.
“For me, it’s the most difficult game we can play in this moment,” he said.
“I think Huddersfield are getting worse results than the way they are competing. They are competing well.
“You can see, in the last game against Liverpool for example, they play very well and competed at a high level.
“I know they need good results and as you know they defeated us last season two times. We know it will be very difficult for us.
“You can see the results when they have played away. In all of them, in the four games, they have scored in all of them. Losing, drawing, but always scoring goals.
“[They are] Very, very powerful in set pieces, throw-ins, corner kicks. I’m sure it will be very, very demanding.”
Watford are without a number of players for the game with Daryl Janmaat, Tom Cleverley and Sebastian Prodl all ruled out through injury.
Troy Deeney and Nathaniel Chalobah may also miss the match – the pair face late fitness tests after training individually during the week.
Gracia admits that the injuries are a “problem” but says that he is confident in his entire squad, with the Hornets boasting many options, pointing to the impact Andre Gray has made off the bench.
“The problem for me is to have six players out of the squad, that’s the problem,” he added. “I want all of them ready, all of them fit.
“It’s not a problem to have different options. I am confident in all of them. The problem is to choose only 11.
“They can know, they can feel that I trust them, that if they don’t start, they can do what Andre Gray did.
“He came on and helped the team a lot. That is the mentality.”
