Watford boss Quique Sanchez Flores says it's never been harder to choose his match day squad

The Spaniard has had a wealth of players at his disposal since taking charge at Vicarage Road in the summer. But it was a case of quantity more than quality earlier in the campaign.

However, several fringe players departed last month which allowed Watford to complete deals for Nordin Amrabat, Mario Suarez and Costel Pantilimon.

Those additions, coupled with impressive and disciplined performances from the likes of Jose Holebas and Almen Abdi in the FA Cup, have made it difficult for Flores to pick his 18-man squad on a match day. He knows there will be players who are left disappointed.

“It’s the hardest it has been (to pick the match day squad) and it’s getting harder because all the players who are fit are ready to play,” Flores said.

“When we changed competition and played in the FA Cup we put other players on the pitch and they all did really well.

“I try and tell the players throughout the week that if they are not in the the squad it isn’t because they are on a bad run or have a bad condition - if players are in a bad condition I will explain that to the player - It’s just we have so many players ready to go on to the list.”

One player who is highly unlikely to be fit for the game against the Cherries is Spanish midfielder Jose Manuel Jurado.

He missed last weekend’s FA Cup win over Leeds United with a calf injury and hasn’t trained this week.

“Jurado’s injury is in his calf and that is very sensitive. It isn’t easy to stop pain in that area,” Flores explained.

“He hasn’t worked or recovered. So we will have to wait a little longer for him."

Joel Ekstrand is training with the Hornets again after he recovered from a slight hamstring problem but Tommie Hoban continues to battle a long standing groin problem.