Watford will be looking to build on Easter Monday’s 2-2 draw at Coventry City (April 10), when they welcome Bristol City to Vicarage Road this Saturday (April 15, 3pm KO).

Ahead of the hotly-anticipated Sky Bet Championship clash - that sees 12th take on 13th - we take a look at five Hornets who have also had a career for the Robins…

An FA Cup winner and England World Cup international, David James began his career at Watford as a schoolboy in 1984, before making his senior debut in 1990 aged just 20, under manager Colin Lee.

A winner of the FA Youth Cup in 1988/89, James spent two professional seasons at the Hornets and made 89 appearances in the Second Division. Spending his whole career in English football, James would play for a number of Premier League sides, including Aston Villa, Manchester City and Portsmouth. He would leave the Hornets to join Liverpool in 1992.

After riding the highs of success, and then subsequent lows with Portsmouth, James left for Bristol City in 2010 on a free transfer. Spending two seasons in Bristol, both in the Championship, the goalkeeper played his part in keeping the club in the league, featuring 84 times. Ironically, he scored an own goal for the Robins in a 2-0 defeat to Watford in March 2012. His final season saw Bristol City finish 20th, staying up by nine points with James having the third most appearances for the Robins in the campaign.

He was also the first-choice goalkeeper for England during the 2010 World Cup, featuring in the infamous 4-1 game against Germany.

Still one of the first names on the Bristol City teamsheet, versatile forward Andreas Weimann scored more goals last season than he had in his previous three at the club. Now the Robins’ captain, the 31-year-old has scored five times in 38 Championship games so far in 2022/23, also contributing four assists.

Weimann joined Bristol City in 2018 from Derby County and is in his fifth season with the club, playing all five in the Championship. The Austrian scored the Robins’ first away hat-trick in the Championship since 1978 when netting three against Sheffield United in 2019.

Weimann’s time at Watford came early into his English football career, joining for the first of two loan spells from Aston Villa in January 2011 and making his debut under Malky Mackay against Brighton in the FA Cup.

Playing 19 games during his first spell and scoring four goals, his second stint at the start of the 2011/12 season was cut short after just three games due to injuries at his parent club. However, after his Watford loan spell Weimann started to become a regular in the Premier League for Aston Villa.

A product of the Watford Academy, Adrian Mariappa was granted his chance in the first-team by Aidy Boothroyd during Watford’s Championship promotion campaign of 2005/06. In the following seasons, the defender would find his feet as one of the main men at the back, playing in 247 games across seven campaigns. He would leave, for the first time, in 2012, joining then Premier League Reading, and would continue to play in the top division for the Royals and Crystal Palace before re-joining Watford in 2016.

After a slow start, he eventually held down a consistent, first-team spot during his second spell with the Hornets as the squad toughed it out in the Premier League. Staying until the club’s relegation from the league in 2019/20, Mariappa would leave to join our opponents Bristol City on a free transfer, making his final Hornets appearance in the Premier League in a 3-2 loss to Arsenal.

His single season in Bristol would end up in a relegation battle, which saw former Watford boss Nigel Pearson come in to keep the squad up at the end. Mariappa featured heavily during the campaign, playing 27 games, including a substitute appearance in a 6-0 loss to the Hornets. Having since spent time in Australia, the 36-year-old is currently turning out for Salford City in League Two.

One of the more prolific forwards in Watford’s history, Billy Lane averaged more than a goal every two games during his four seasons for the Hornets. Playing pre-war, Lane joined Watford in 1932 from Brentford, with the Hornets in the Third Division South, scoring 22 goals in 36 games during his debut season for the club.

An incredible 27 goals in 38 games in his third season, which helped him reach a fifth-place finish, would be his second-highest tally ever in a single campaign. He would also break the record at the time for the fastest hat-trick in the Football League during his second year at the club, scoring three in under three minutes against Clapton Orient, the club he would eventually conclude his career with.

Catching the eye of Bristol City, Lane joined for a £200 fee in 1936 and spent two seasons at the club, although towards the end of his prime. Lane scored nine in 20 games during his first season, still in the Third Division South, as the Robins finished 13th. Aged 33, Lane scored only two goals in just 10 games in his penultimate season as a player, retiring in 1938.

During the Second World War, Lane had two spells as a guest player, first joining Brighton and Hove Albion, and then re-joining Watford.

Spending more than 10 years at Brentford, including a Third Division win in 1992, Keith Millen was brought to Vicarage Road alongside Colin Foster towards the end of the 1993/94 campaign to form a defensive partnership that would help the team avoid relegation - which they did. The five-and-a-half years that followed at Watford would see a relegation from the second-tier as well as two more promotions, concluding with the club in the Premier League. However, Millen would leave the club for Bristol City in 1999 before he could make an appearance in the top-flight.

During his time at Watford, Millen made 191 appearances, most impressively playing 44 times in the Third Division promotion season in 1997/98, including scoring a goal against former club Brentford.

Following Watford’s promotion to the Premier League, Millen left to join our opponents, who sat in the Third Division at the time. Before going on to eventually manage Bristol City, he featured in three seasons, finishing ninth in the first two and missing out on promotion in his final term in the play-offs, although he would win the Football League Trophy that year. Retiring in 2003, Millen would then have brief spells as caretaker manager before becoming the permanent boss in 2010.