The first managerial sacking of the season was, surprise, surprise, Watford. Like someone who can’t quite move on from their ex,the Watford board parted company with Paulo Pezzolano after just five months in charge and opted to bring back Javi Gracia for a second spell at the club following his last spell in 2019.

This weekend's 3-0 victory over Middlesbrough has lifted them to 10th in the condensed Championship table with five wins, three draws and five defeats.

Goalkeepers

Norway international Egil Selvik is the man who is currently in possession of the number one shirt and has been since joining from Udinese in January 2025. He’s only kept one clean sheet all season but has made 36 saves preventing 1.79 goals which shows more about Watford’s defensive stability than Selvik’s form.

That clean sheet came on Saturday in Gracia’s first game in charge, so it’s likely that he has already found a way of making the foundations more solid.

Twenty-six-year-old former Bolton keeper Nathan Baxter is waiting in the wings and has played twice when Selvik picked up a minor knock. Youngster Alfie Marriott is the third choice.

Defenders

Gracia started with an old school 4-4-2 against Middlesbrough, so we’ll begin this round-up with the full-backs.

Jeremy Ngakia feels like he’s been around forever, but I was surprised to find out that he’s still just 25 years old. He came through the West Ham academy and made five appearances for the Hammers before moving to Watford and he’s been with the club ever since chalking up 1,891 minutes on the pitch last season.

He’s often Watford’s last line of defence utilising his pace to get back and make last ditch tackles.

On the opposite side is Marc Bola, someone I have an affinity with due to Football Manager. His career has taken in Bristol Rovers, Blackpool and Middlesbrough before a move to Turkey with Samunspor.

Watford brought him back to English football this summer and he’s slowly been integrated into the team, starting the last four at left-back.

That pair have plenty of Championship experience but the centre-halves between them have less. Kevin Keban Biakolo only played six games last season, having signed from Toulouse in 2024, and has three yellow cards in his last five games.

Matthew Pollock has been with Watford since 2021 but had to wait until last season to really nail down a starting place, making 47 appearances last season. He’s not blessed with pace but makes up for it with his positioning and his aerial threat.

Biakolo stepped in against Middlesbrough to replace James Abankwah who is on loan from Udinese. The Ireland U21 international had a good loan spell at Charlton last season but his discipline is an issue and his straight red against Coventry looks set to keep him out of this one having also missed Saturday’s victory.

Defensive squad depth is largely provided by loan players. Left-back Caleb Wiley is on loan from Chelsea and already has three caps for the USA, whilst 20-year-old centre-back Max Alleyne is a talent from Manchester City’s academy and has featured nine times so far this season, Wiley having made five appearances.

Versatile right-back/centre-back Formose Mendy is on loan from Lorient and will be competing with Ngakia and permanent summer signing from RC Charleroi Jeremey Petris.

Watford youth graduate and left-back James Morris is also on the fringes of the squad.

Midfielders

We’ll follow the same pattern to run through the midfielders, starting on the right wing with Kwadwo Baah, who picked up an assist against Middlesbrough with a delightful cross. Like a lot of Watford’s squad, he is blessed with pace and strength and is still just 22 years old. The Boro game was just his fourth start of the season, but he’ll certainly be hoping to keep his place.

On the other side was young Irish talent Roco Vata. The former Celtic player was snapped up for a compensation fee in 2024 and played 37 games for the Hornets last season, ending with eight goal contributions (four goals and four assists). He’s already got two a piece this season.

Imran Louza was one on my midfield hitlist for the summer window and it was rumoured that Watford were open to offers. That move never materialised and he’s once again showing his worth in the Championship.

He’s scored five goals, including three in his last three games, and assisted another two. But it’s not just his goalscoring exploits that make him stand out, he’s also excellent on the ball with 100 progressive passes to his name so far this season, generating 2.15 xT. (expected threat). Expect Azor Matusiwa to be all over him like a rash.

Alongside him is another one of my Football Manager favourites in Hector Kyprianou. The midfielder was signed on a free from Peterborough in the summer and has started 10 games in the middle of the park so far.

Moussa Sissoko and Edu Kayembe are both incredibly experienced campaigners and provide that extra depth in midfield and I wouldn’t be surprised to see one of them rotated in on Tuesday night as they seem to be ahead of another experienced central midfielder, Nampalys Mendy, formerly of Leicester in the pecking order.

Pierre Dwomoh is also an option there but hasn’t even made the bench this season.

With one of last season’s stars Giorgi Chakvetadze a long-term injury absentee, it’s down to young Australian Nestory Irakunda and experienced Tom Ince to provide the depth on the wings.

Irakunda is just 19 but has the makings of a special talent having signed from Bayern Munich and already having scored three goals in nine appearances for the senior Australian side.

Ince is at the other end of his career and hasn’t made a start this season with all five of his appearances coming off the bench.

Othmane Maamma is another to watch out for. The right winger signed this summer from Montpellier but has been away with Morocco U20s in the U20 World Cup, a tournament that his international side won by beating Argentina 2-0 in the final. He finished the tournament with five goal contributions (four goals and an assist) and was back on the bench with Watford at the weekend.

Forwards

Does a striker who’s hitting form with a brace at the weekend sound familiar? No, I'm not talking about George Hirst. I’m talking about Luca Kjerrumgaard, whose double helped the Hornets to a 3-0 victory.

One was a deft finish sweeping in with his right foot and the other was a powerful header. That took his tally for the season to four with his others also coming as a pair in a 2-1 victory over QPR in August.

The tall Dane, on loan from Udinese, will hope that this starts a run of goalscoring rather than his current streak of having the odd great game sandwiched between a run of anonymous ones.

Playing with a strike partner may unlock that in him. That’s certainly what Javi Gracia will be hoping for. On Saturday that partner was 19-year-old Mamadou Doumbia, a Mali international signed in 2024 from Malian side Black Stars. He’s still very raw but is another one that Watford will be hoping has a bright future.

The other option to play alongside Kjerrumgaard is 20-year-old Vivaldo. The Portuguese is another addition from Udinese, this time permanently, and has shared playing time with Doumbia and contributed one goal and one assist so far.

The Teams

Kieran McKenna has heavily rotated on Tuesday nights without success in the last two busy weeks, but I think he’ll have learnt from that for this one.

I can see Jack Clarke being given an opportunity on the left but other than that I don’t foresee many changes from the 4-1 victory over QPR.

Watford, however, may freshen things up a bit more given their rotation across the season so far. Sissoko, Irankunda and Vivaldo are my contenders for starting places.

Prediction

As I’ve gone through and done my research about this Watford side who were a relative unknown to me previously, I think they’re potential play-off contenders and will represent a tough opponent. Town do love a Tuesday though, and that’s what’s got me hoping we can edge a 1-0 victory.

ThaiBlue added 11:49 - Nov 3 Tricky game for Town but if we can keep their 2 boys up front quiet we can win the game 2-0 blues.
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