Forget João Pedro and Sarr: West Brom should be concerned about this Watford duo ahead of Monday night’s clash: Opinion | OneFootball

Monday night’s Championship clash at Vicarage Road between Watford and West Bromwich Albion is a hugely important matchup in the race for the play-off places.

Indeed, after Saturday afternoon’s action is complete, the two sides sit outside the top six, but know a win could either take them back inside it, or very close.

Slaven Bilic’s Watford are currently eighth in the table, for example, two points behind Millwall in sixth, but a win could take them as high as fourth in the table if they were to win by a large scoreline.

West Brom, meanwhile, under the guidance of Carlos Corberan, sit 10th in the division, four points from the play-off positions.

Naturally ahead of a tie such as this, each side will look to identify the best players in the oppositions side and how they can make them have an ineffective night up against themselves.

If you’re West Brom heading into this one, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the biggest stumbling block to a good result were the likes of Joao Pedro, Ismaila Sarr, or someone along those lines.

However, in recent weeks, two January additions have begun to form what is looking a rather strong partnership at the heart of the Hornets defence.

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Indeed, it is still very early days yet, but in the two matches that Wesley Hoedt and Ryan Porteous have played paired alongside each other in central defence, the duo, and Watford as a whole, have looked a lot more solid.

Burnley away on Tuesday night was the best example of that.

Although frustratingly for Watford the Clarets did find a 95th minute breakthrough and equaliser, before that, Hoedt and Porteous had been immense.

The pair had both had to deal with the physical but clever Ashley Barnes throughout the evening and had both been called upon a number of times in moments of sustained pressure.

Even going forward, Hoedt’s cross-field balls to Sarr offered another glimpse into that being a potentially key asset for the Hornets moving forwards.

Meanwhile, Ryan Porteous’ bravery and ability to beat a man and step into midfield with the ball led directly to the build up to Watford’s goal on the night, with his long ball behind the Burnley defence getting the Clarets keeper in all sorts of a pickle.

Indeed, then, whilst West Brom will obviously have to contend with the vast attacking talent that Watford have at their disposal on Monday night, their trickiest test may come at the other end of the pitch.

If Porteous and Hoedt’s strong partnership continues into Monday night at Vicarage Road, it could certainly go a long way in helping the Hornets achieve a positive result on the night.