Tony Mowbray admits Watford's recent downturn in form has him baffled - with the Sunderland boss pointing to the Premier League quality within the Hornets' ranks. The Black Cats take on Watford at a sold-out Stadium of Light tomorrow in a game which could see Sunderland take a huge stride towards securing a play-off place.
But for Watford, who were relegated from the Premier League last season, this campaign will go down as a major failure with the club not only missing out on automatic promotion but also unable even to finish in the top six. They are on their third manager of the season, with summer appointment Rob Edwards sacked in September, his successor Slaven Bilic before being axed last month, and now Chris Wilder is in charge.
But Wilder has been powerless to address the club's slide and they arrive on Wearside having won just three of their last 17 games in a run that began in mid-January, with the former Middlesbrough boss branding his team 'physically and mentally weak' after they lost against at home to struggling Cardiff City last week. That said, Mowbray points to the talented individuals within their side and says Sunderland cannot afford to take them lightly tomorrow.
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"I genuinely think that every game in this league is dangerous, to be honest," he said. "Every team is capable of scoring a goal against you, every team is capable of beating you.
"I look at Watford and I find it difficult to see how they have had the run of results they have had, especially with the players they have got, but I'm not there managing them. Watford have got some very talented individuals, especially at the top end of the pitch.
"If you think of Ismaila Sarr and Joao Pedro, [Yaser] Asprilla... they have lots of really good attacking players, [Britt] Assombalonga, [Keinan] Davies, they are a real threat. They have lots of experience, lots of talent, lots of speed.
"If they bring their best game they can give anyone in this division a game so we have to mindful of that. I didn't listen Chris' interview the other day but he wasn't overly-complimentary about what he has inherited.
"They are experienced footballers, they have played in the Premier League most of them, they might want to come and really put on a show and make everyone aware of how talented they are. That's alright, because you'd like to beat the best of any team.
"We just have to look after ourselves and be ready for the best version of Watford, and make sure we know their strengths. If we can exploit any weaknesses or deficiencies they might have, we have to do that, and detatch from the emotion where fans might be willing you to go charging forward because this is a really dangerous transition team, to use the modern terminology.
"If you give the ball away in the wrong areas, they will punish you because they have the quality to do that, the pace and the power."
Sunderland go into the game knowing that, whatever the outcome, they will still be in the play-off mix on the final day of the season, when they go to Deepdale to take on Preston North End.
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