The Reading boss hit out at the FA last week over a “lack of common sense” to schedule the Royals’ FA Cup quarter-final replay with Bradford just 48 hours after both sides’ respective league campaigns.

Clarke has always insisted that the league is his main concern but Reading’s crucial 2-1 victory over Brighton in midweek has given him 13 points breathing space over the drop zone.

It means the Reading boss can now potentially afford to rest a number of players on Saturday, keeping them fresh for the home clash with Bradford on Monday evening.

He said: “The FA Cup has to be on my mind when I pick my team for Saturday as there’s such a short space of time between the two games.

“I have to make the right decisions for the club and ensure we get two positive results.

“We’ll get a team ready for Saturday, we’ll play, pick ourselves up and go again on Monday.”

Watford are currently joint top on goal difference, with their attacking prowess boasting the second best goalscoring record in the division.

But Reading are a stern proposition on the road under Clarke and have lost just two games in 11 on the road since he arrived at the club.

Clarke accepts it’ll be a tough test at Vicarage Road but says Reading have nothing to fear.

“We don’t fear anyone,” he said. “We’ve had some really strong away performances and some great results at teams near the top of the table so hopefully we can add another result to it.

“It’ll be a tough game. They’re a good team with a lot of good players and they’ve been up there all season.

“I like their system, shape and the way they play. They pass it well, they can play a few different ways and they’ve got a lot of footballers. In recent weeks they’ve been playing with a back four but they’re very flexible and can play with a back three so we have to be ready for anything they throw at us.”

Jake Cooper is likely to keep his place in the team after an impressive display on Tuesday, whilst Yakubu, Jake Taylor, Hope Akpan and Stephen Kelly are pushing for a starting spot.

Alex Pearce is fit again after missing the win over Brighton with a broken nose, whilst Clarke must wait on international clearance from America in order to play new signing Zat Knight.