Watford could play four times in nine days after FA Cup replay postponement

Their third-round replay against Tranmere fell victim to Storm Brendan as heavy rain left the Prenton Park pitch unplayable

Nigel Pearson’s men have a hectic spell coming up (Getty Images)

Watford are facing the possibility of playing four games in nine days after their FA Cup third-round replay at Tranmere was postponed.

Tuesday night’s scheduled fixture fell victim to Storm Brendan as heavy rain left the Prenton Park pitch unplayable.

The tie was rearranged for Thursday 23 January, with the winners then set to face Wolves or Manchester United in the fourth round on Sunday, January 26 in a televised fixture.

Should Watford – who are battling relegation from the Premier League – win the replay, that will leave them with a hectic week as they host Tottenham on Saturday lunchtime before travelling to face Aston Villa on Tuesday 21 January.

Watford said both clubs had been “in regular contact” to discuss “the options available” with the Football Association once Tuesday night’s scheduled match had been put at risk by the weather.

The FA confirmed in a statement: “After consultation with all the relevant parties, in order to keep the competition on schedule and reduce the risk of causing fixture disruption elsewhere, the match has been rescheduled for Thursday 23 January, 7.45pm kick-off.

“The winner of this tie will host Wolverhampton Wanderers or Manchester United in the fourth round proper on Sunday 26 January, 3.00pm kick-off.”

Tranmere fought back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 in the original tie at Vicarage Road.

Micky Mellon’s side are third from bottom in League One, while Premier League side Watford sit one point above the relegation zone.

Rovers chairman and vice-chairman Mark and Nicola Palios issued a club statement on Tuesday evening to give some background and highlight the planned work to improve the underlying sub-structure at Prenton Park, which is around 30 years old.

The statement said the problem was “not an issue of either man-power or expertise..... nor is it an issue of money”.

Tranmere had sought advice from neighbours Liverpool and the FA as well as external pitch specialists – while ground staff have sometimes worked “through the night” to help get games to go ahead.

The Palios’ statement read: “In order to give us the best chance of getting the Watford game on, we also hired in an additional specialist pitch covering which allows air to circulate underneath it to dry the pitch. Unfortunately, even this was not enough in the face of Storm Brendan.

“We are of course very disappointed that our pitch is not what it should be this season, but we hope this will enable people to better understand what the problem is and how it will be dealt with.”

PA