After Rovers and Newcastle United played out a 1-1 draw in 3rd round of the 2018-19 FA Cup on Saturday, all eyes were on the draw for the 4th round to see who either side could potentially face, once the victor of the replay – which is set to be played on the week commencing Monday 14th January – is determined.
The draw for the 4th round occurred live on the BBC, following the conclusion of Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Liverpool – which saw Wolves emerge victorious – as all of the victors from the 3rd round shaped up to see who they would be up against, in the next round.
With the draw seeing the likes of ‘cupsetters’ Barnet and Gillingham, who knocked out Sheffield United and Cardiff City respectively, advance into the 4th round, Rovers and Newcastle – ball #10 – were drawn at home against the Premier League’s Watford, who reached the current stage of the competition, after beating non-league Woking, 2-0, in the 3rd round. The clash, if Rovers do get through, will take place at Ewood Park, between the 25th and 28th of January, with a confirmed date to be set in the near future, along with ticket information.
If Rovers do advance to the 4th round, they will come up against a side who have been in mixed form this season, as after a solid start to the league, which saw them win their first 4 games of the Premier League season, Watford tailed off around September, following a home defeat to Manchester United. Despite this, the Hornets find themselves in a respectable 8th position in the Premier League after 21 games. In terms of their FA Cup history, Watford have only reached the final once in their history, as they lost to Everton in the 1983-84 final. Additionally, they have participated in the semi-finals 5 times, with their most recent attempt at making the final, being in 2015-16, where they were defeated 2-1 by Alan Pardew’s Crystal Palace.
The last time Rovers and Watford battled, the Hornets emerged victorious in the 2014-15 season, as a late Odion Ighalo goal at Vicarage Road saw then-manager Slaviša Jokanović claim the victory against Gary Bowyer’s Rovers. Since that game, however, both sides have had varied fortunes, with Watford since, establishing themselves as a Premier League side, whilst Rovers, as we all know, have been slowly rebuilding under the stewardship of Tony Mowbray.
