When Watford kicked off against Manchester United on December 22 they were staring at a nine-point deficit to Premier League safety. Four games and 10 points later that gap is down to two after the Hornets rolled up their sleeves again to continue their Nigel Pearson-inspired revival with a battling 2-1 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Goals from Gerard Deulofeu and birthday boy Abdoulaye Doucoure either side of half-time had seemingly put Watford in command, but after Pedro Neto halved the deficit the home side suffered another blow when VAR Simon Hooper deemed that Christian Kabasele's yellow card should become a red after he tugged back Diogo Jota.

The 10-man Hornets again showed their spirit and togetherness though, as they dug in and limited Wolves to few chances to claim a third successive home win to gain further momentum in their quest to secure another season of Premier League football.

Here are a selection of images to enjoy as Pearson's troops got 2020 off to a fine start.