Sports Mole provides team news, predicted lineups and a full preview of Monday's Premier League clash between Watford and Arsenal at Vicarage Road. Arsenal will be looking to hit back on Monday night when they take on Watford in a Premier League clash at Vicarage Road. The Gunners fell to another away defeat last time out in the league to lose their place in the top four, and they cannot afford to drop more points against the 2019 FA Cup finalists. Watford © Reuters Watford supporters will probably still be pinching themselves a week on from their magical FA Cup semi-final victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers. With 11 minutes of the match to play, the Hornets trailed 2-0 and looked out of ideas. A world-class strike from Gerard Deulofeu started a memorable comeback, though, which culminated in the Spanish attacker slotting the ball home in extra time after Troy Deeney had levelled from the spot 94 minutes in. No matter what happens from here, this will go down as one of the finest seasons in Watford's history. As well as having a cup final against Manchester City to look forward to, Javi Gracia's side are also still in contention for a seventh-place finish in the league. Europa League football at Vicarage Road is therefore a real possibility for Gracia and his side, but they still have a couple of tough fixtures - against Arsenal and Chelsea - to come before the end of the season. Leicester City's defeat to Newcastle United on Friday night was the perfect start to the weekend for the Hertfordshire outfit, leaving them one point off seventh with two games in hand to play on the Foxes. Watford's most recent league outing finished in a 4-1 win over Fulham on April 2 when producing an improved second-half display to relegate their opponents. That followed back-to-back away losses to the Manchester clubs, which Gracia would have lost no sleep over. The Hornets' home record has been solid all season, going five matches without defeat at Vicarage Road in the Premier League and winning the last three in a row there. Not since December 1986 have they won four successive home top-flight matches in the same season. Supporters' focus may well be on the FA Cup final against Man City on May 18, but for now Gracia must keep his players grounded and keep them on course for seventh. With two avenues still open for Europa League football, fans can start dreaming of European football returning to these parts. Recent form in Premier League: WLWLLW Recent form (all competitions): WLWLWW Arsenal © Reuters Defeat to Everton aside, Arsenal have been in terrific form over the past couple of months, taking 21 points from a possible 30 in the top flight and progressing through two knockout rounds of the Europa League. Thursday's 2-0 win over Napoli means that the Gunners have one foot in the semi-finals of the European competition, but their poor away form this term does leave some doubt in the mind. In the league, Arsenal have won 14 and drawn two of their 17 home matches - losing only to Man City on the opening weekend - while away they have accrued just 19 points from a possible 45, placing them below opponents Watford in that regard. Arsenal are also yet to keep a clean sheet away from home in the Premier League this season (15 games) - the only side yet to do so - and last had a longer run without a clean sheet on the road in the top flight between April 1984-February 1985 (16 games). Emery, who once went an entire season without an away league win at Sevilla, has seen his side win just one of their last nine league matches away from the Emirates Stadium and two out of 12 in all competitions. There is no doubt that Arsenal have a real problem on their travels, which Emery desperately needs to get to the bottom of. Of their last six league matches, four of them are away from home. That is why, despite the North London outfit sitting in a healthy position, supporters are not so confident of landing a place in the top four. If Arsenal are to improve on last term's final position under Arsene Wenger, they quite simply have to start picking up three-point hauls on their travels. The good news for the visitors is that they have won seven of their last eight Premier League games on a Monday, losing only against Crystal Palace in April 2017 in that run. Opponents Watford, by comparison, have only won two of their 15-such fixtures - a 4-2 win over Portsmouth in April 2007 and a 4-1 victory against Chelsea in February 2018. Recent form in Premier League: WWDWWL Recent form (all competitions): LWWWLW Team News © Reuters Arsenal welcome back Lucas Torreira from a three-match domestic ban, but Sokratis Papastathopoulos picked up a 10th booking of the season at Everton that will rule him out of this match. Rob Holding and Hector Bellerin remain on the sidelines, so Emery will have to use Shkodran Mustafi in the backline, either in a four-man defence or three. Emery must decide whether to use Granit Xhaka from the off or instead give the Swiss midfielder some more time to recover from a troublesome injury. Elsewhere, Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan came on as second-half subs against Napoli in midweek and are pushing for recalls here to freshen up the side ahead of Thursday's trip to Naples. In terms of the hosts, Deulofeu has surely earned the right to start following his incredible display from the bench at Wembley Stadium last weekend, likely forcing Andre Gray back down to the bench. Deulofeu is carrying a slight knock that will have to be monitored, though, and there are also question marks over the fitness of Kiko Femenia and Isaac Success. Skipper Deeney has scored nine Premier League goals this season, only netting more in the 2015-16 (13) and 2016-17 (10) campaigns, and he will be one of the first names on the team sheet. Watford possible starting lineup:<doc-sep>Sports Mole looks at how Arsenal could line up for Monday night's Premier League trip to Watford. Arsenal will be aiming to put an end to their poor away record when they travel to Watford in the final match of the Premier League weekend. The Gunners have collected just 19 points from a possible 45 on their travels this term, most recently losing 1-0 to Everton last Sunday. Unai Emery is still yet to work out a system that best suits his side away from home, but with four of their last six league matches being played outside of North London, he is running out of time to get things right. Ahead of Monday night's trip to Vicarage Road, Sports Mole looks at how Arsenal could line up. Out: Rob Holding (knee), Hector Bellerin (knee), Danny Welbeck (ankle), Sokratis Papastathopoulos (suspension) Doubtful: Granit Xhaka (groin) > Click here for Arsenal's latest injury and suspension news ahead of this match Arsenal responded to their defeat at Goodison Park with a 2-0 home win over Napoli in the Europa League on Thursday evening. With the return match to be played in Naples just 72 hours after their meeting with Watford, Emery has to find the correct balance in squad rotation. Mesut Ozil underwhelmed during a rare away start against Everton and is a candidate to sit this one out, with Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan - second-half subs against Napoli - pushing for inclusion. Emery will be thankful that Lucas Torreira is back from suspension, though the Uruguayan midfielder's return coincides with the loss of Sokratis as he picked up his 10th yellow card of the season last week. Elsewhere, Aaron Ramsey was rested against Everton but has become far too important to leave out in successive league games, though the fitness of Xhaka could alter Emery's thinking. Should the visitors go with one striker, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang - Arsenal's highest Premier League goalscorer this season with 17 goals - may get the nod over Alexandre Lacazette.<doc-sep>Sign up to FREE email alerts from Football London - Arsenal Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice The trip to Watford tonight is a must-win game for Arsenal. Unfortunately for Unai Emery there are few games remaining in the season that aren't must-wins. As such the Arsenal head coach has indicated that, ahead of a trip to Naples 72 hours later, he is prepared to rotate his squad for the trip to Vicarage Road where his side will take on a Watford side buoyed by their remarkable comeback against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup semi-final. "On Monday, I am sure we are going to play different players but [try] to find the same performance," Emery said after the 2-0 first leg win over Napoli. "Some players after playing with this demanding performance physically, maybe we need something different. Next week it will be the same in Naples." Where that rotation can come is where the challenge lies. At centre-back a careless yellow card for Sokratis Papastathopoulos in the 1-0 defeat to Everton has had major consequences. The Greek centre-back will miss Arsenal's next two games through a suspension for accruing 10 bookings, when his slate would have been wiped clean if he had returned from Goodison Park without a card to his name. (Image: OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images) That means that Shkodran Mustafi is set to return to action alongside Laurent Koscielny and Nacho Monreal, with Petr Cech dropping back to the bench for Bernd Leno. There are no obvious deputies for Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Sead Kolasinac if Emery continues with his preferred back three but infield there could be potential changes. Aaron Ramsey has been battling with thigh issues and could be rested, particularly if Granit Xhaka is available again. The Switzerland international has had a groin issue since the international break but returned to full training on Wednesday and, though he was not utilised in the win over Napoli, is expected to be available against Watford. A midfield pairing of Xhaka and Lucas Torreira would certainly offer the bite that Arsenal so often lack in away games, of which they have won just five of 15 in the league this season. Further forward there are also likely to be changes and it is possible that the first-choice front three of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Mesut Ozil will be broken up to give game time to Alex Iwobi and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. Predicted Arsenal XI (3-4-2-1): Leno; Mustafi, Koscielny, Monreal; Maitland-Niles, Xhaka, Torreira, Kolasinac; Iwobi, Mkhitaryan; Lacazette Keep up to date with the latest news, features and exclusives from football.london via the free football.london app for iPhone and Android . Available to download from the App Store and Google Play .<doc-sep>Hello and welcome to Vicarage Road, where Watford host Arsenal in the Premier League this evening. The Gunners come into this one following a competent win at home to Napoli on Thursday evening, with the return leg in mind in three days' time. However, it's been the away form bothering Unai Emery's side, confounded by a 1-0 loss away to Everton last time out in the Premier League. Watford, meanwhile, will be riding on a wave of confidence following their qualification for the FA Cup Final in May. They beat Wolves last week at Wembley 3-2 after extra time, having been 2-0 behind until the 79th minute. In the league, they put away a tepid Fulham side 4-1 at home in their last match, but have found it tough against the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool in their last few games. Join reporter James Benge for all the build up and updates as they happen at Vicarage Road tonight. Keep up to date with the latest news, features and exclusives from football.london via the free football.london app for iPhone and Android . Available to download from the App Store and Google Play .<doc-sep>
Granit Xhaka is back in the Arsenal side for the first time since the international break as Unai Emery bids to end his side's woeful run of form away from home against Watford. Xhaka was the sole fitness doubt heading into the trip to Watford but, having resumed training before Thursday night's win over Napoli, there was always optimism that the Swiss international would have recovered from his groin injury in time. With games to come against Napoli on Thursday night and three Premier League games in potentially as little as seven days Emery had always intended to rotate his side despite the importance of the game. As such Konstantinos Mavropanos has come in for a first Premier League start of the season as Emery reverts to a four-man defence. Shkodran Mustafi shuffles along to right back. Further forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang leads the line on his own with Aaron Ramsey, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alex Iwobi tasked with supporting the striker. Alexandre Lacazette and Mesut Ozil are included on a high-powered bench.] (Image: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images) A win would move the Gunners into the fourth and final Champions League qualification spot with a game in hand on their nearest rivals Chelsea. The Gunners are without Sokratis Papastathopoulos, who picked up his 10th yellow card of the Premier League season in the 1-0 defeat to Everton. In addition to tonight's game he will also be unavailable to face Crystal Palace at the Emirates Stadium on Easter Sunday. Arsenal XI: Leno; Mustafi, Koscielny, Mavropanos, Monreal; Xhaka, Torreira; Mkhitaryan, Ramsey, Iwobi; Aubameyang Keep up to date with the latest news, features and exclusives from football.london via the free football.london app for iPhone and Android . Available to download from the App Store and Google Play .