Watford's new loan signing Gerard Deulofeu will be thrown into action at Stoke on Wednesday night as the club bids to right the ship.
The Hornets have managed just one win from their last 11 Premier League matches, and were dumped out of the FA Cup by Southampton last weekend.
The 1-0 defeat on the south coast provoked a chorus of boos from the visiting supporters with defender Jose Holebas appearing to confront a section of disgruntled fans at the final whistle.
Deulofeu, the former Everton midfielder, completed his move to join the struggling Hornets from Barcelona until the end of the season on Monday evening.
It marked the first signing for Watford's new manager Javi Gracia following his appointment as Marco Silva's successor.
And Gracia, absent from Watford's prematch news conference with flu, will hope the Spaniard, who has scored two goals in 17 appearances for Barcelona this term, can provide the spark for a much-needed turnaround at Vicarage Road.
"We, as a club, are delighted to have him here," said Gracia's assistant Zigor Aranalde. "We know the qualities that he has got and he is a fantastic player coming from Barcelona.
"He has not had minutes at Barcelona and he needs to play and this is a magnificent club to go forward.
"We know what kind of player he is. He is a Spanish international, and a Barcelona player. I am sure he will help us to achieve the objective."
Despite feeling under the weather, Gracia will travel to Stoke and is expected to be in the dugout for his first Premier League match as Watford manager.
Captain Troy Deeney is also due to be at the Britannia Stadium on Wednesday evening despite courting interest from West Brom.
The Baggies completed a loan deal for Liverpool's Daniel Sturridge on Monday, and manager Alan Pardew subsequently revealed that he will not be moving for another striker.
Aranalde added: "He [Deeney] is a leader so we need him. He is the skipper and an important player.
"We are focused on the game at Stoke and Troy trained with the team this week. He did well, is ready, available and 100 percent up for the game."