Kenny Jackett says the prospect of a home FA Cup tie against Premier League Watford will help motivate his players in their fourth round replay at QPR.

The Hornets, who Jackett used to play for, will visit the winners of Tuesday night's Loftus Road reply, which follows a 1-1 draw at Fratton in the initial tie.

Pompey have bigger problems to worry about - chiefly the loss of form in the league that has seen them slip to third place. But they will be keen to play themselves into form ahead of a league visit to Plymouth when they take on Steve McClaren's side for a second time.

Jackett told the Pompey website: 'It will be a tough test at Loftus Road, but it’s a game we’re all looking forward to and we’ll be doing everything we can to keep our cup run going. The motivation of Premier League opposition in the next round is very high and we’ve seen on occasion that we have genuine Championship quality.

'It was a very tight game last time and a draw was probably the fair result — there wasn’t a lot between the sides and I expect it to be the same again. Loftus Road is a tight ground with a passionate crowd, but we travel well and will take plenty of numbers once again.

'We’ve had good results and performances in the cup competitions lately, but lost some ground in the league. It’s frustrating to have picked up just one point from two games last week, but these are one-off situations and we want to progress if we can.'

The Blues look like being without injured Jack whatmough and Dion Donohue at Loftus Road, which could mean starts for Christian Burgess and Anton Walkes.

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