After former manager Valerien Ismael became the latest victim of Watford’s notoriously trigger-happy board, erstwhile Hornets midfielder Tom Cleverley – who only called time on his playing career at Vicarage Road last year – stepped into the dugout at St Andrew’s for a date with Birmingham.
The 34-year-old’s reign – however long it may last – began in perfect fashion against an out-of-sorts Blues outfit, as Emmanuel Dennis‘s strike on the stroke of half time propelled the Hornets to a 1-0 win, ending the four-game run without a second-tier success which spelled the end of Ismael’s reign.
Owing to just their third Championship maximum since the turn of the year – all of which have interestingly come away from home – Watford reside in 13th place in the Championship table as the season draws to a close, comfortably clear of the drop zone but with little to no hope of a last-gasp playoff push.
While Birmingham, Rotherham United and Queens Park Rangers have all fallen to defeat to Watford on their own turf in 2024, item number two on Cleverley’s agenda is snapping the Hornets’ horrendous run of home form, which has seen the hosts go winless in six straight Vicarage Road affairs since January’s FA Cup win over Chesterfield.
The home faithful have to go back even further to November 28 for their team’s last Championship triumph at Vicarage Road, since when Watford have fallen to six defeats and played out three draws in front of their own fans in the second tier, despite scoring in all but one of those nine contests.
Norwich City were the most recent visiting side to fall to a league defeat at Vicarage Road, and the Canaries’ former manager Daniel Farke could avenge his old club’s November defeat on Good Friday, where Leeds will go in search of their fourth-straight win in the Championship.
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After an FA Cup exit to Chelsea and 1-1 draw with Huddersfield Town halted the momentum of a Whites side who had won their first nine Championship games of 2024, Farke’s men have quickly rediscovered their ruthless ways, taking nine points from nine against Stoke City, Sheffield Wednesday and Millwall.
Wilfried Gnonto and Daniel James were the beneficiaries of Georginio Rutter’s 16th and 17th assists of the league season in a 2-0 beating of the Lions, although James returns to second-tier duty after experiencing the lowest of the lows on international duty, as Wojciech Szczesny’s penalty save from the Wales winger saw Poland advance to Euro 2024 at the expense of the Dragons.
Amid James’s playoff pain, the Whites attacker can take a crumb of comfort from Leeds’ position at the top of the table – clear of Leicester City on goal difference while boasting a one-point lead over Ipswich Town – but the Foxes’ game in hand means that the Whites’ title destiny is not in their own control.
