Two-time Watford Player of the Season Tommy Smith looks ahead to FA Cup semi-final with Crystal Palace

The 35-year-old came off the bench during the 2-1 semi-final defeat against Southampton at Villa Park in 2003 and started four years later when the Hornets suffered more last-four disappointment at the Birmingham ground as Giggs, Scholes, Ronaldo, Rooney et al helped Manchester United to a 4-1 victory.

The two-time Hornets Player of the Season is hopeful Quique Sanchez Flores’ men can go one better this time around, but agreed that Sunday’s clash against Crystal Palace is very difficult to call.

He said: “I think if you had said the two teams from three, four months ago, again, it would have been really tough to call because Palace were flying, Watford were acclimatised to the Premier League and were really pushing forward and getting some great results.

"But then you suddenly look at the turn of the year and both the teams have struggled a little bit for form. Obviously Palace have struggled more for that form, but Watford have been a little bit up and down as well, with performances not quite where they were before the turn of the year.

“Palace got a great result at the weekend at Arsenal [a 1-1 draw]. They look like they are starting to get a bit more form back to where they were and again Watford had a great result [the 1-0 win at West Bromwich Albion] so it is so close to call. I think you’re right, it [comes down to] who deals with the occasion on the day.”

Yannick Bolasie

Smith, who scored 64 goals in more than 300 appearances during his two spells at Vicarage Road, feels there are similarities in the way both sides play but highlighted the potential threat posed by four Palace players when he spoke to the Watford Observer on Monday.

He said: “I think for Palace, and it’s well documented, they’ve really missed [Yannick] Bolasie and he’s made a big difference for them this season when he’s played. So to have him back to full fitness, he scored against Arsenal yesterday so he’s a massive, massive lift for them coming back into the team.

“You’ve got [Wilfried] Zaha on the other wing and I think that’s where their quality lies, out wide and attacking full-backs, getting crosses in the box and getting men in the box and trying to create chances that way.

“Then you’ve got the enigma [Emmanuel] Adebayor, who on his day can rip any defence apart. But then I have seen him when it looks like he’s not bothered and he strolls around the pitch as if he would rather be sat at home on his sofa.

“So for me with [Yohan] Cabaye thrown in they’re the four main danger men for Palace and it’s how they play on the day really. I think if they’re on top form, it’s going to be really tough for Watford.”

Turning to how the two teams play their respective games, Smith continued: “I think they’re quite similar in their approach to how they play. They’re both very well set up and very well organised and both like to counter attack.

“I think Watford have slightly more of a cultured play whereas Palace, to me, are a bit more direct. Watford look to try to get the ball down and pass through the middle, build up their play, whereas Palace are get it out wide and get it in the box. But they’re very similar in they don’t give much away, play very tight and both teams work really hard.

“I think a bit like the Play-Off Final a few years ago I can see them cancelling each other out – they’re both very well organised and both work really hard as a team.

“I see it being a really cagey game, I really do. I don’t think either team is going to want to give much away and it might come down to a bit of individual brilliance, be it hopefully from [Odion] Ighalo or Troy [Deeney], [Adlene] Guedioura, someone like that. But it could equally come from a Wilfried Zaha or a Bolasie so I don’t see there being much between the two of them on the day.”

Troy Deeney

The first goal is important in any match but if tomorrow’s semi-final turns out to be as cagey as Smith suspects, the now retired former Hornet acknowleged it “can have a massive influence on the game”. However, he believes the experience in the current Watford squad could also have a significant impact bearing on the outcome.

He said: “An early goal might open it up a little bit but the longer it goes without either team scoring it might get a bit nervy and the crowd get a bit more edgy.

"I have certainly played in those games, a big occasions and everyone is sitting on the edge of their seat waiting for a mistake to happen or a flash of brilliance.

“I’ve read recently Troy Deeney was saying how when they played in the Play-Off Final against each other, he felt the occasion got too much for Watford. But I look at the experience they’ve got in their team now with the international players and players that have played in massive games, not just for club level, international level, and it’s a different Watford side to that one that turned out three or four years ago in that Play-Off Final, completely different.

“So I think that’ll give Watford a lot of hope that they have these players now that can deal with the big occasions, possibly more so than Palace who have been at that level a while but maybe haven’t quite got the same players with that kind of experience of playing in the big, big games.”

Like every other Hornets fan heading to Wembley, Smith, who will be making the journey accompanied by his son, is hoping to experience one of the greatest days in the club’s history. And it is an occasion he is relishing being a part of.

“I’ve been to quite a lot of Watford games this season with my son and it’s really nice to go as a fan,” he explained. “It’s such a great club to go and watch a game at anyway and it’s really nice to take my son to football. He’s delighted to be going to Wembley as well.

"It’s making memories for him and building his love for the club as a fan. But Wembley... it’s a brilliant day out and always a good atmosphere so I’m looking forward to it.”