Football Season Guide

Watford were one of the pleasant surprises of last season, the Hornets not only enjoyed a cloudless existence in the top flight but also demonstrated some open and attractive football. This wasn’t so surprising with the likes of Ighalo and Deeney leading the attack and the duo remains loyal to the club for the new season, which is a promise for goals. It became a tradition for Watford to change their managers more often than handkerchiefs and the new campaign will start with a new boss at the helm. Walter Mazzarri is a proven name in the business and he is already trying to put his stamp on the displays in the preseason. The arrival of the Italian specialist is expected to improve the defensive record, not that it was too bad last season, and Mazzari already signed a new key figure for his defence in the face of Christian Kabasele. The centre-back is not only very solid defender but for his previous club Genk he averaged four and a half goals per season over two years and carries serious threat in the air. The other defender that is new is the right-back Dje Djedje, but he most likely will be behind Nyom in the pecking order. The two other major new arrivals are of wingers and with Success a typical right winger and Zuniga an experienced player on the other flank Watford’s attack will have variations. Watford seem to have a solid squad with very good cover options and the Hornets are expected to change formations based on their opponents. The preseason suggests that Mazzarri’s favourite formation is 3-5-2 and at least on home turf this is expected to be the first choice. Against tougher opponents in the preseason Mazzarri seems to favour 4-2-3-1 and away from home Watford are likely to utilise this formation more. Capoue will continue to have key role in the heart of the midfield, but with Suarez, Behrami and Watson in the squad he can be trusted with a more advanced role too. In general the Hornets have rotation options in every position and with the experienced gaffer in charge they should be able to maintain solid mid-table position once again.