Watford’s Carabao Cup meeting with Tottenham Hotspur has been described as a final by head coach Javi Gracia.

The Hornets take on Spurs at the neutral venue of Stadium MK as they look to secure safe passage to round four of the competition for the first time since the 2008/09 season.

When quizzed on the possibility of taking Watford far in the tournament, Gracia made it is clear he will approach tomorrow’s with the upmost seriousness.

“For me, the final is tomorrow because it is a competition where if you do not win you are out and do not have any chances,” Gracia said.

“The best thing for us is to play like it is a final. We do not know what will happen in the future and we are focused on tomorrow.

“It is a good competition and we will try to do our best and see if we can get more time in the competition.”

Watford head into the third round clash with the knowledge they have what it takes to overcome Spurs, having beaten Mauricio Pochettino’s side 2-1 at Vicarage Road earlier this season.

The north London club have experienced an up and down season so far but, after three straight defeats, returned to winning ways against Brighton on Saturday.

Gracia will pay little attention to form and also believes the Premier League success over Spurs will have little impact on matters in Milton Keynes.

“I am sure the game will be very different from others. We are confident we are going to compete again as we did in the Premier League game,” the Spaniard said.

“We know we are playing against a very good club, a very good team and it will be a very tough game. If we keep our level we can compete with any team.

“I do not know how Tottenham are feeling in this moment and what I know is Spurs is a very good team and Pochettino is one of the best coaches. I am sure it will be a demanding game for us.”

The match is likely to see Gracia ring the changes after naming the same starting XI in all six of Watford’s Premier League games this season.

While Gracia admits he will give fringe players a chance to impress, he says he will select a side which gives Watford the best chance to progress.

He said: “It is a good chance for the team and not only some of the [fringe] players. In the last game in the Carabao Cup we changed many players, maybe tomorrow we will do the same.

“We will try to choose the players who will be the best option for us. I will not say we will choose players who didn’t play in the Premier League, we will choose the best options.”