Watford preview with Alasdair Gold, football.london

Alasdair Gold is a familiar face in the press box following Spurs home and away, plus PL2 and youth matches, in his work as Tottenham Hotspur correspondent for football.london. Here are his views on tonight's Premier League clash against Watford at Wembley (8pm).

The game

Alasdair: "It's going to be another tough one for Tottenham. Both matches this season between the two sides have been tight encounters, Watford coming from behind to win at Vicarage Road and Spurs winning on penalties in the Carabao Cup tie at Stadium MK. The Hornets are ninth in the table (after Tuesday's results, they were seventh), although their results have dropped off a bit. They've only won three of their past 13 matches in the Premier League, but they've been tough to beat as well in recent weeks. Much will depend on how Tottenham can bounce back from their cup disappointments of the past week and whether the returning Son, Sissoko, Winks, Eriksen and Alderweireld bring fresh legs, options and desire to the side. That quintet can provide the spark throughout Spurs' spine and the home side will need a bit of magic and endeavour to get the goals flowing again against a Watford side that have tightened up a bit at the back in recent games."

Key area

Alasdair: "This game's going to be won in the midfield, I reckon. Abdoulaye Doucouré has been out for the past couple of matches and the Frenchman will be a big miss for them as he's played well against Spurs in the past, his own goal at Vicarage Road in September aside. Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko will be coming in with fresh legs and minds into the game, with Christian Eriksen sitting just in front of them and potentially Eric Dier in there as well. That's a quartet with plenty of drive and a touch of flair, up against a similarly hard-working group in Roberto Pereyra, Etienne Capoue, Will Hughes and potentially Ken Sema or Tom Cleverley. Whoever comes out on top in that battle in the centre of the park will be able to provide the platform for the attacking talent to do their thing."

Key players

Alasdair: "For Spurs, it's all about the return of Heung-Min Son. With Harry Kane and Dele Alli out, the north London outfit have been missing that little bit of magic up front and the South Korean star certainly has it. Much will depend on how tired he is after his Asian Cup exploits but Mauricio Pochettino seemed encouraged by Son's efforts and demeanour in training on Tuesday. Before he left for Dubai, Son had scored nine goals and laid on six assists in his previous 11 games for his club and Spurs have missed their smiling South Korean star. For Watford, their danger will come from their attacking duo of Troy Deeney and Gerard Deulofeu. Both players have given Spurs problems in the past in very different ways, the Englishman for his bruising, battling play and the Spaniard for his drive and trickery. Tottenham's defence, whether it's a back four or three on this occasion, will have to keep their wits about them."

Prediction

Alasdair: "I'm going for a 2-1 win for the hosts. This will be a tough test for Spurs' confidence after a week to forget in the cups, but I think the return of Son is just the boost the team needs."