But the Bombers will be cautious, with football operations manager Paul Hamilton saying a final decision could be made as late as Saturday morning, depending on how Watson pulls up after Friday's session.
"We'll have a good look at him and the final decision may not made be made until tomorrow morning because it depends on really how he pulls up from training today. We're hopeful the signs are good and we'll wait and see," Hamilton said.
Hamilton said Watson – a critical player for Essendon – wouldn't be risked this week unless he was fully fit.
"He'll be an important player for us. At the SCG there's always a lot of stoppages and we know he's a good stoppage player.
"We'd want to go into it (the decision) with a lot of confidence. It's not just this week we've got the rest of the season as well. It'd be wrong for him to play at 80 per cent or 90 per cent; we want him to be really up there."
Watson injured his ankle two weeks ago during the Bombers' win over Carlton, and was a notable absentee from the Essendon outfit that loss to an in-form Collingwood side last week.
If Watson pulls up sore on Saturday morning before the game, young Bachar Houli or Nathan Lovett-Murray could be recalled to the side.
"Nathan Lovett-Murray was unfortunate to go out of the side and Bachar Houli has been playing some terrific football. He was best on ground last week for our VFL side, so they're two candidates we'll be looking at," Hamilton said.
In other selection news, Mark McVeigh returns after serving a one-week club imposed suspension and young defender Michael Hurley returns after recovering from a broken wrist.
