Flores urges Watford to carry cup form

Watford manager Quique Sanchez Flores urged his team to carry confidence from their Arsenal upset into their FA Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace.

Flores’ men have been on a fine run in the cup, including a stunning 2-1 victory over Arsene Wenger’s team in the last eight.

The Spaniard hopes that win, and the belief after it, can inspire his team at Wembley on Sunday.

“We beat the champions of this competition for the last two years in their stadium, so we have amazing feelings in this competition,” Flores said.

“We have been a serious team, trying to be competitive, trying to play well, trying to be honest with ourselves, so this is our idea and this is what we want to transmit.

“We need to be completely responsible because we are defending Watford, 30,000 fans will go there, and we have an amazing responsibility, because we would like to be in the final.”

Watford and Palace have met twice this season, a 1-0 win for the latter followed by a 2-1 victory for the former.

Flores said he had taken plenty out of those clashes.

“What we’ve learned is that Crystal Palace have an amazing team. They have a very good manager, and their players have done very well,” he said.

“They mix an English style with very good players and forwards, and they are a very dangerous team so we need to try to plan in the best way that is possible. 

“When you arrive at this point in this kind of competition, the teams are normally really positive because you need to win a lot of matches to arrive at a semi-final. 

“The feelings we have in this competition are really good, but we need to take care of the little details, take good decisions and try to be calm, because it’s not a moment to have fear.”