West Ham United v Watford
Premier League, London Stadium, Tuesday 8 February 2022, 7.45pm
West Ham United welcome Watford to London Stadium for a midweek Premier League fixture on Tuesday evening.
The Hammers are seeking to bounce back after suffering consecutive top-flight defeats for just the third time in 2021/22. Strangely, of West Ham's eight Premier League losses, six have come in batches of two.
Last time West Ham lost back-to-back games in the Premier League, in December, we bounced back with a 4-1 win at Tuesday's visitors Watford at Vicarage Road in our final game of 2021.
Since then, we've won two and lost two in the League and go into this game with 37 points from 23 games played and in fifth place. A win combined with a Manchester United draw or defeat at Burnley on Tuesday evening would see us climb back into the top four.
Watford have also changed their manager - again - replacing Italian Claudio Ranieri with former England, Liverpool and Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson, who steered the Hornets to their first clean sheet of the season in a goalless draw at Burnley on Saturday evening.
Kick-off on Tuesday evening is at 7.45pm.
Ticket news
A limited number of tickets remain on General Sale for Tuesday's game. Click here to be at London Stadium on Tuesday evening!
Tickets are also on General Sale for our Premier League home games with Newcastle United and Wolverhampton Wanderers, while Season Ticket Holders and Bondholders can buy tickets for our UEFA Europa League round of 16 home leg on Thursday 17 March.
Click here to watch West Ham United in action live now!
Honouring Isla Caton
West Ham United will honour Isla Caton’s memory at Tuesday’s game.
Ahead of kick-off, Isla’s mother Nikki and her fellow famous No12 Carlton Cole will talk about our brave young Hammer before the players, officials and Isla’s family lead a minute’s applause.
West Ham United’s players will also wear pink armbands in her honour.
Isla’s photo will then be displayed again in the seventh minute, marking her age when she passed away on 25 January, when supporters are again invited to applaud in her memory.
If you would like to leave a message of condolence to Isla, you can do so:
- By email – [email protected]
- By post – In Loving Memory of Isla, c/o Supporter Services, West Ham United FC, London Stadium, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London E20 2ST
- By hand – You can hand your message or tribute to a member of staff at any one of our official Club Stores – London Stadium, Lakeside, Romford or Basildon. Click here for Club Store addresses and opening times.
West Ham United would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our supporters, as well as supporters from other clubs across the football world, for the love, support and affection shown to Isla and her family.
Update on supporter access to London Stadium
West Ham United can provide an update to supporters on their access to London Stadium for the remainder of the 2021/22 season, following the Government’s easing of COVID-19 Autumn and Winter Plan B restrictions.
In line with the latest Government guidance, COVID passes will no longer be a condition of entry to Premier League matches.
Starting with our home match against Watford on Tuesday 8 February, supporters will no longer be required to complete a health declaration form before the match, nor present any form of COVID certification on matchday.
West Ham United, the Premier League and its clubs continue to urge fans to follow public health guidance to keep each other safe on a matchday, including wearing face coverings when indoors or in crowded areas.
A Code of Conduct remains in place and is updated to reflect the latest changes in Government and Premier League guidance. As COVID-19 restrictions ease, it is vital supporters continue to do all they can to minimise the risk of passing on COVID
Supporters should note that stadium access processes continue to remain subject to change, in line with changes to COVID protocols or guidance issued by the Government, Premier League and SGSA.
How to follow
Tuesday's 7.45pm kick-off will be broadcast live in the UK by BT Sport 2 and BT Sport Extra 3. If you are based overseas, you may be able to watch the game in your territory. Click here for overseas broadcast listings.
We will also be covering the game live with a blog and audio commentary on whufc.com and our Official App and across our social media channels, with goals, highlights and exclusive reaction to follow after the final whistle.
Official Programme
West Ham United's award-winning Official Programme for Tuesday's Premier League fixture with Watford is on sale now.
The Hornets visit east London for a midweek top-flight match, with the Irons seeking a victory that could lift us back into the top four.
The Club will be paying its respects to little Hammer Isla Caton, who sadly passed away at the age of seven in January, five years after being diagnosed with the rare child cancer neuroblastoma, at London Stadium.
Isla's mother Nikki has penned a personal message to the West Ham family, while manager David Moyes and captain Mark Noble also pay tribute to Isla.
Get your West Ham United v Watford Official Programme now!
Team news
West Ham United manager David Moyes has revealed that Michail Antonio is set to return to his squad for Tuesday’s Premier League meeting with Watford, following his return from international duty with Jamaica.
The Hammers striker missed Saturday’s Emirates FA Cup victory at Kidderminster Harriers after arriving back in the UK just 24 hours before that game, so Moyes will be happy to have him back for the visit of the Hornets.
Antonio will resume his Premier League campaign having scored for the Reggae Boyz in their defeat to Panama - taking his tally to three goals in six games for his country.
However, the boss may be without Manuel Lanzini and Arthur Masuaku, who are being monitored with Achilles and knee issues respectively.
The opposition – Watford
Roy Hodgson became Watford’s third manager of the season a fortnight ago, following the dismissals of Xisco and Claudio Ranieri.
The former Inter Milan, Liverpool and England manager has tended to bring experience, calmness and stability to the clubs he has overseen, most recently guiding boyhood side Crystal Palace to four successive midtable finishes.
Watford’s newest manager – and at 74, the oldest-ever in the Premier League – would defy recent history if he were to manifest such longevity at Vicarage Road; the Hornets have gone through no fewer than five head coaches since the exit of Javi Gracia in September 2019, just four months after leading the Hertfordshire club out for an FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium.
To put that figure into context, Hodgson is Watford’s 15th permanent manager since owner Gino Pozzo assumed control of the club in June 2012; West Ham United have had just 18 in their near-127-year-long history.
Tuesday’s visitors, for one thing, have never lacked anything by way of ambition, but – as they bid to remain in the Premier League for a ninth campaign this level – have struggled to find consistency to match.
The beginnings of Watford Football Club can be traced back to 1881, when Henry Grover formed an amateur team under the guise of Watford Rovers which went professional in 1897, joined the new Football League Division Three South in 1921 and moved to Vicarage Road in 1922, but they remained comfortably in the third tier for many of their early years.
It was in 1959 that Watford traded their blue kits for their now-well known gold shirts and black shorts, and the change added some much-needed sting: the Hornets won their first promotion in decades, propelled by the goals of club legend Cliff Holton.
Progression – Watford rose as high as Division Two by 1969 – was always stemmed by regression – they returned to Division Four in 1975 – but fortunes did improve when lifelong fan Elton John assumed ownership in 1977.
Soon after, the arrival of the late, great Graham Taylor as manager ushered in back-to-back promotions, with prodigious talent Luther Blissett – later the club’s first England international – plundering goals and setting records aplenty.
A golden decade was capped when Taylor took the Hornets to the top-flight for the first time in 1981/82 – and, in stunning fashion, captured the country’s imagination by finishing second behind only Liverpool.
The Hornets then enjoyed their first FA Cup final – a 2-0 loss to Everton – and European football, a third-round exit in the UEFA Cup, in 1983/84, but Taylor’s departure to Aston Villa in 1987 saw successors struggle, with the club relegated back to the second tier the following campaign.
So began another spell of unpredictability; promotion pushes were punctuated by poor subsequent campaigns, with only two Premier League seasons – both bottom-placed finishes – from the first 22 of the competition’s history.
Between 2015/16 and 2019/20, however, despite frequent managerial changes, the Hornets kept up the buzz of their longest spell in the Premier League, enjoying relatively comfortable mid-table finishes and another FA Cup final in 2019.
After winning promotion last year, an undoubtedly talented squad has all the potential to keep Watford afloat again, but Hodgson will have to employ all his top-level management experience to tackle the consistent inconsistencies which have prevented Watford from truly taking flight.
Previous meetings
Including Southern League and war-time fixtures, West Ham and Watford will meet for the 100th time on Tuesday evening.
The Hammers have had by far the best of things down the years, winning 57 of the previous 99 meetings, drawing 18 and losing just 24. The Irons have scored 181 goals to the Hornets' 113.
The very first meeting between the two clubs was way back on 26 November 1898, when Watford and Thames Ironworks drew 0-0 in the old Southern League Division Two at the Hornets' Cassio Road stadium in front of just 1,000 supporters.
Amazingly, despite West Ham joining the Football League in 1919 and Watford doing so just two years later, the pair did not meet in the League until 1 September 1979, when Watford won a Second Division fixture 2-0 at Vicarage Road.
We've got our own back since then and among the 55 teams we have faced more than 20 times since joining the Football League in 1919, our best win ratio is against Watford, with 27 victories in 43 matches against the Hornets (63 per cent).
Premier League-wise, we've won the last four fixtures by an aggregate score of 14-4 and are looking to complete a second consecutive double, having won 3-1 home and away last season and 4-1 at Vicarage Road just after Christmas.
In 15 Premier League meetings overall, West Ham have won eight, drawn two and lost five.
Match officials
Referee: Martin Atikinson
Assistant Referees: Lee Betts & Richard West
Fourth Official: Simon Hooper
VAR: Paul Tierney
Assistant VAR: James Mainwaring
Born in the village of Drighlington, midway between Leeds and Bradford in the West Riding of Yorkshire, in March 1971, Martin Atkinson began refereeing at the age of 16.
He joined the Football League as an assistant referee aged 27, in 1998, before being promoted to the national list of referees five years later.
Atkinson refereed his first Premier League game, Manchester City’s 3-0 win over Birmingham City, in April 2005. The following year, 2006, he was appointed to the FIFA list of international referees.
Atkinson has officiated a number of high-profile matches, including the 2011 FA Cup final, 2014 EFL Cup final, UEFA Champions League and international matches, including being England’s representative at UEFA Euro 2016.
The 50-year-old has referred West Ham United on 60 occasions, including our 4-2 opening-day victory at Newcastle United back in August and the 2-1 home defeat by Manchester United in September.
Tuesday's game will be his third West Ham v Watford appointment, having previously officiated the 3-1 win here which secured Premier League safety in July 2020 and the 4-2 home defeat featuring Dimitri Payet's rabona assist for Michail Antonio in September 2016.