Watford head coach Javi Gracia is delighted to finally have a home cup tie this season.

The Hornets will face Crystal Palace at home on Saturday, March 16 in an early 12.15pm kick-off as they aim to reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

The match will be Watford’s first cup game at home this season after three away FA Cup ties, for which they have travelled around 650 miles, and two more in the Carabao Cup.

Gracia said: “I’m so happy. You don’t know how happy I am. We deserve it after playing in the Carabao Cup and all the games in the FA Cup away, it’s the right moment to enjoy one playing at home.

“It doesn’t mean that because we are playing at home we are going to win, but I want to enjoy that experience with our supporters backing us.”

With the Hornets just two wins away from reaching the final of the competition, many supporters want to see Gracia pushing to win the trophy.

But the head coach insists he has been taking the competition seriously from the very beginning.

He said: “I took the competition seriously from my first day, it doesn’t change anything for me.

“Maybe now there will be more people speaking about it because when you are close to the semi-finals or final there will be more people speaking about that.

“It’s not different for me, we are going to prepare the Palace game with the same attitude and ambition we prepared for the Woking game.

“It’s a good signal if you are able to win games, playing against different teams and in different circumstances, always with personality and attitude.

“The only thing I wanted in that moment was to play at home.”