Preview: Watford v Wolves – Up for the cup!

Wolves correspondent Tim Spiers previews the clash.

Preamble

Precisely 21,562 days have passed since Wolves last won an FA Cup semi-final.

It was 708 months ago, or a little over 59 years, that Stan Cullis’ Wolves beat Aston Villa 1-0 at the Hawthorns.

Time will stand still at Wembley on Sunday should Nuno Espirito Santo’s 2019 vintage repeat the feat of Cullis – a notion that Nuno and Fosun hope will become more and more familiar in the years to come.

Defeats against Leeds (1973), Arsenal (1979), Spurs (1981) and Arsenal again (1998) at this stage of football’s oldest and grandest cup competition are etched in the memories of the long-suffering, success-starved Wolves supporters who witnessed them.

But Nuno cares not for history. While respecting Wolves’ glorious past, the aim of the Portuguese head coach and this blossoming group of fearless Wolves players is to create new history, to go down in Wolves folklore.

Standing in their way are Watford, who like Wolves have enjoyed an impressive Premier League campaign.

Like Wolves they’re fighting for Europe on two fronts, like Wolves they’re desperate to reach a rare final (their one and only final appearance came in 1984 when they were beaten by Everton) and like Wolves they’ve earned praised from neutral fans and pundits up and down the land this season.

In Watford’s favour is the manner in which they brushed aside Wolves at Molineux earlier in the season, a game Conor Coady labelled this week as their toughest of the campaign.

Wolves were bullied that day. The Hornets sat deep, won the midfield battle through powerhouses Abdoulaye Doucoure and Etienne Capoue and scored two goals, quick as a flash, to stun Nuno’s team.

While the challenge ahead of them is ‘tough, very tough’ as Nuno would say, there are many reasons to suggest that Wolves can and will prevail on Sunday.

For a start, since that October defeat Wolves have evolved as a team. The introduction of Leander Dendoncker and a switch to 3-5-2 changed everything. And the likes of Diogo Jota, goal machine Raul Jimenez (as a pair they're one of Europe's most in-form strike-forces) and the ever-improving Joao Moutinho have come to the fore since then.

This is a Wolves team that rises to the big occasion. Big stadiums, big matches, they embrace the limelight.

Joao Moutinho has won a European Championships and a Europa League, Dendoncker, Romain Saiss and Jimenez have played in World Cups, Jota and Ruben Neves have featured in the Champions League, Jonny Castro Otto is a Spanish international, Conor Coady played in an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley, John Ruddy won a play-off final at the same stadium and has played for England.

Matt Doherty is just about the most unflappable and laid back footballer you could meet. And you wouldn't expect Willy Boly or Ryan Bennett, two brutish defenders, to get the jitters either.

Wolves were fearless at Wembley in December, they played Spurs off the park. They won at the Olympic Stadium and were arguably the better team when earning draws at Old Trafford and the Emirates.

And of course in the white hot cauldron of Molineux they held their nerve to beat the mighty Manchester United in the quarter-finals.

That fearless approach has been a major factor in their success.

And Nuno's fabled 'game by game' approach has concentrated the minds of players who are busy making a name for themselves on a global stage.

This great club has underachieved for decades. More than 34,000 supporters – Wolves' largest following for a single game since 1988 – travel to Wembley full of hope, of anticipation and expectation.

Win or lose, the fans have a team to be proud of. But play to their best and glory can be Wolves'.

Hold your nerve, boys.

The opposition

We spoke to two Watford experts to get the inside track on the Hornets.

Team news

Watford have fitness concerns over Roberto Pereyra (hip) and Isaac Success (knee), while Tom Cleverley (calf) is definitely out.

As has often been the case this season, Nuno Espirito Santo has a fully-fit squad to choose from.

The Wolves boss confirmed on Friday that John Ruddy, his FA Cup keeper for the five matches so far this season, will be between the sticks.

Likely line ups

Watford (4-2-2-2): Gomes; Femenia, Mariappa, Cathcart, Holebas; Doucoure, Capoue; Hughes, Pereyra; Deulofeu, Deeney. Subs: Foster, Janmaat, Kabasele, Mesina, Sema, Quina, Gray.

Wolves (3-5-2): Ruddy; Saiss, Coady, Boly; Doherty, Moutinho, Neves, Dendoncker, Otto; Jimenez, Jota. Subs: Norris, Bennett, Vinagre, Gibbs-White, Traore, Cavaleiro, Costa.

Key players

Watford – Troy Deeney

The talisman for the Hornets, Deeney has scored 10 goals in 32 appearances this season.

Wolves – Diogo Jota

In the form of his life. Scored eight goals since the start of December but his game is about far more than that and his telepathic partnership with Raul Jimenez is among the hottest in Europe right now.

The bosses

Javi Gracia: "Both teams are playing well with good results, in a good moment, and we have to show in this semi-final what we are able to do and if we deserve to go to the final. We won (at Wolves in October) and we can do it again. I think it's been a good season for both teams with the best moment being the semi-final to show what we are able to do."

Nuno Espirito Santo: "Focus on the game, don't think about anything else and what it could mean or what could happen after. Make the game special. We have to play just like another game and make it special for that to team something. We know, everyone knows what it could mean, but we have to play it just like another game, focus on the actions and tasks and make it special for that to mean something. Don't think about what could happen after. Play the game."

The players

Troy Deeney: "I've got a weird feeling about this one; it doesn’t excite me too much, it doesn’t make me go 'ah!'. It’s just another game. I just want people to understand the perspective. People always say it’s a big occasion for teams outside the top six, but we’re trying to get in this situation more regularly."

Jose Holebas: "If I win a trophy here it would be great. I am really proud of the boys at the moment. This season has been really amazing."

Matt Doherty: "It’s going to be unbelievable. Obviously, we’ve already played at Wembley this season and won (against Tottenham) so we’ve got good memories, but it’s a semi-final so it’s obviously going to be different, a different kind of atmosphere altogether, being just one game away from having the chance to win a major trophy which is what we play the game for."

Ruben Neves: "Everyone is talking about it. It’s a great chance for us, but we have to be calm because we have to look at this game like another one. We have to play in the same way we’ve been playing. We only can think that we have to play in our normal way, do our normal things, to try and achieve the win. It’s a big stadium, a beautiful stadium. I think everyone wants to play at Wembley and fortunately we have a chance to play a semi-final there."

Form

Watford WLWLW

Apr 2: Watford 4 (Doucoure 23, Hughes 63, Deeney 69, Femenia 75) Fulham 1 (Babel 33)

Mar 30: Manchester United 2 (Rashford 28, Martial 72) Watford 1 (Doucoure 90)

Mar 16: Watford 2 (Capoue 27, Gray 79) Crystal Palace 1 (Batshuayi 62) *FA Cup

Mar 9: Manchester City 3 (Sterling 46, 50, 59) Watford 1 (Deulofeu 66)

Mar 3: Watford 2 (Deeney 5, Gray 90+2) Leicester City 1 (Vardy 75)

Wolves WLWDW

Apr 2: Wolves 2 (Jota 25, Smalling OG 77) Manchester United 1 (McTominay 13)

Mar 30: Burnley 2 (Coady OG 2, McNeil 77) Wolves 0

Mar 16: Wolves 2 (Jimenez 70, Jota 77) Manchester United 1 (Rashford 90+5) *FA Cup

Mar 10: Chelsea 1 (Hazard 90+1) Wolves 1 (Jimenez 56)

Mar 2: Wolves 2 (Jota 16, Jimenez 18) Cardiff City 0

Past five meetings

Oct 20, 2018 (PL): Wolves 0 Watford 2 (Capoue 20, Pereyra 21)

Mar 7, 2015 (Ch): Wolves 2 (Afobe 14, Price 50) Watford 2 (Vydra 30, Deeney 65)

Dec 26, 2014 (Ch): Watford 0 Wolves 1 (Dicko 57)

Mar 1, 2013 (Ch): Wolves 1 (Sako 90) Watford 1 (Abdi 41)

Nov 12, 2012 (Ch): Watford 2 (Chalobah 35, Deeney 68) Wolves 1 (Sako 54)

Memory lane

January 26, 2008 (FA Cup)

Andy Keogh scored twice and fellow strikers Stephen Elliott and Jay Bothroyd were also on target when Wolves beat Watford 4-1 at Vicarage Road in their most recent FA Cup meeting.

Wolves line-up: Hennessey; Foley, Rob Edwards, Darren Ward, Collins; Keogh, Henry (Kightly, 89), Potter, Jarvis (Gray, 84); Elliott, Bothroyd (Gibson, 89). Subs not used: Stack, Breen.

Match facts

• Wolves have won their past two FA Cup games against Watford 4-1, both at Vicarage Road in 1993 and 2008

• Raul Jimenez and Diogo Jota have scored Wolves' past seven goals between them

• Conor Coady and John Ruddy have played every minute of Wolves' FA Cup run to the semis

• Wolves have won their past six matches at Wembley – the 1949 and 1960 FA Cup finals, the 1974 and 1980 League Cup finals, the 1988 Sherpa Van Trophy final and a 3-1 Premier League win against Spurs in December

• This is Wolves' 15th FA Cup semi-final tie. They won eight and lost six of the previous 14, including losing their last four

Referee

Michael Oliver (Northumberland)

Experienced ref who took charge of Wolves' recent visit to Stamford Bridge where they drew 1-1 with Chelsea.

Oliver has dished out seven red cards and 134 yellows in 38 matches so far this season.

Andre Marriner is the fourth official and Graham Scott will oversee VAR.

For the first time in English football VAR replays will be shown on big screens inside the stadium for decisions which have been overturned.

Match odds

Watford 2/1, draw 21/10, Wolves 7/5