Tottenham, the current holders of the trophy, defeated Liverpool 4-2 in the last round, with Pavlyuchenko grabbing two. He had earlier also scored in the side's third round win over Newcastle.
Underdogs Watford, currently struggling in the 2nd tier of English soccer, were the hosts for the quarter-final encounter and delighted their fans by taking the lead through a Tamas Priskin shot in the 13th minute.
Tottenham began to come more into the game, and were dominant for almost the entire first half, Pavlyuchenko striking the woodwork when he should have done better. However, Tottenham were awarded a penalty just before the break and Pavlyuchenko stepped up to make amends for his miss, his shot low and hard.
The second half saw the cup holders pressure Watford relentlessly, and a Darren Bent goal with 14 minutes left to play proved to be the winner.
"Darren Bent is our regular penalty taker but he was on the bench, so Pavlyuchenko stepped up," Tottenham manager Harry Rednapp said after the match, speaking to the club's website. "He had just missed a good opportunity when he went through and hit the crossbar, so he showed great character to step up for the penalty."
Pavlyuchenko's goal was his seventh goal in English soccer since joining Tottenham in August from Spartak Moscow.
