A Trip to the Hornets Nest: A Look at Watford

Well, things are quite despondent in Spurs land after a heartbreaking loss to Manchester City on the weekend. With Tottenham seemingly out of the title race, what should be Spurs' new focus?

Tottenham would do right to get their heads back in focus quickly, because this Friday is the time for another FA Cup fixture. Spurs are in the Fourth Round Proper now of the FA Cup, and a trip to Vicarage Road in Watford awaits. But what kind of Hornets squad is Tottenham running into in Watford?

Watford has struggled this season, reaching depths not seen from a club that was in the Premiership just five years ago. The team is in 18th in the Championship, having lost two consecutive league games to Reading and Birmingham City. The departure of Danny Graham to Swansea looms the largest loss for the Hornets, as the production from the Golden Boot winning striker has yet to be fully replaced.

Trying to replace Graham though has been young Marvin Sordell, who has tallied eight goals on the season. Sordell, 20, is an English U-21 International and has been the target of a Premier League. A victory over the Hornets will key on shutting down Sordell. The main supply line has come from Spurs academy product Mark Yeates. The Irishman, an offseason addition from Sheffield United, supplies the crosses from the right wing.

Defensively, Watford has been poor this season. This is not the fault though of keeper Scott Loach, one of the better young English netminders in football. The defensive line is an unspectacular bunch, with Adrian Mariappa and Carl Dickenson the mainstays.

Look for a deeper examination of how Tottenham should address the line-up challenges of this huge FA Cup tie later in the week. But Tottenham can count themselves lucky that they are facing a Watford FC side in struggling form.