While there may be a tiny amount of mitigation for not striking a cross on the run perfectly, failure to make corners count when the taker can place the ball down and there is nobody within 10 yards of him is much harder to defend.

Watford had seven corners against Preston on Saturday and posed little or no threat – other than to the shins of the defender nearest the ball.

In matches where fine margins count, not making the most of set pieces really is a crime and it’s one Watford have committed for most of the season.

“We look at the delivery, we look at the areas that we’re trying to cover and if people are maybe not doing their jobs,” said Tom Cleverley.

“But again we’ve had windy days at London Colney and getting much quality practice is difficult.

“You have to value set pieces in the modern game though, because up to a third of your goals in a season can come from set pieces.

“I think defensively since I’ve been in we’ve been fantastic at defending set plays.

“We’ve been strong and brave – but on the flip side we need to see more chances created from our own.

“And that does start with a good delivery.”

Having been favourites to beat Preston on Saturday, Watford return to being the outsiders at Portman Road, as they were against Leeds and West Brom.

“We’re underdogs in the bookmaker’s prices, but not in my mind,” Cleverley said.

“I think if this was the first game of the season the odds would be a lot more balanced.

“The performance level I’ve seen in the last three games – minus our final product against Preston – is the level I see us competing at.

“Ipswich might have more reason than us to be motivated, but then that’s my job to ensure we are fully motivated and relentless not just tomorrow but for the rest of the season.”

One thing that is certain – Ipswich will not be getting bodies behind the ball and hoping to defend their way to a point like Preston did.

“If you analyse the game we didn’t deal well with them just sitting in on a block,” Cleverley admitted.

“We didn’t prepare too much for that so we’ve got to look at ourselves as a coaching staff too.

“We’ll certainly be a lot more prepared for the next time it does happen.

“But I’m sure we’ll create more chances against a team that shows just as much ambition to win the game as we do.”

Ipswich have won their last five league games at Portman Road and scored 19 goals in the process.

They have only lost once at home in the league and that was back in August, they have scored in every home Championship game bar one and they are comfortably the highest scorers at home in the division.

However, their defensive record at Portman Road is far less impressive – only two teams have conceded more than them in home games, and they’ve kept only four clean sheets in front of their home fans this season.

“Theirs is very much an approach of ‘we’ll outscore you’,” said Cleverley.

“They have got one of the most productive full-backs in the league with Leif Davis, they’ve got exciting players in Omari Hutchinson and Nathan Broadhead, and now they’ve signed Keifer Moore who is one of the best Championship strikers around.

“They have a lot going for them going forward, but then so have we.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if there were goals in the game, but I wouldn’t be at all unhappy with a 1-0 win either.”