Premier League Fantasy Football Tips for Watford by @CoysFPL.
In this team preview series, Dan previews all 20 Premier League teams ahead of the 2021/22 season. This includes season expectations, expected lineups, best player picks, under the radar gems, and players to avoid.
Find all our other Premier League 2021/22 Team Previews here which will be continually updated as the season draws closer!
Watford 2020/21 Season Summary – Fantasy Football Tips
Watford’s promotion campaign was catalysed by their annual manager switch this time round. Xisco was appointed several days before Christmas, and went on to dominate the rest of the league.
During his spell in charge, they finished top of the Championship, won 18 from 26 and conceded just 15 (keeping 15 clean sheets).
After switching to a 4-3-3 after an initial run of games with a 4-4-2, Xisco guided Watford to win 14 of their final 18 games, so its a system that’s set to stay.
Across the whole season, Watford equalled the best defensive record in history, only conceding 30. Only half of those goals were from open play which shows their defensive resilience.
From an attacking perspective, they only scored 63. That was just the sixth best record in the league and over ten less than both Brentford and Norwich.
Watford 2021/22 Season Expectations – Fantasy Football Tips
Watford’s target will be to remain in the league for another season. I think that’ll be a challenge given their lack of potency in front of goal.
The Hornets haven’t really added to that this season. Keeping up their defensive solidity will be vital, but also tough. Watford will be one of the teams to target for clean sheets rather than attacking returns.
Unfortunately, I don’t think they’ll have enough to survive, but they should have a fairly decent defensive record.
Watford Expected Lineup
Daniel Bachmann will retain his spot in between the sticks after replacing an injured Ben Foster midway through last season and never looking back since.
Kiko Femenia, Francisco Sierralta and William Troost-Ekong are shrewd picks in the back four, with Adam Masina likely to keep his spot from Danny Rose after an impressive campaign.
Tom Cleverley and Will Hughes should be partnered by newcomer Imran Louza.
Ken Sema should be the starting left winger but could rotate with the likes of Josh King, Cucho Hernandez and Ashley Fletcher.
Troy Deeney takes the most uncertain spot in the eleven, but should be first choice come the first day of the season. He has to fend off Andre Gray, Emmanuel Dennis, Joao Pedro, King and Fletcher for that spot.
Meanwhile, key man Ismaila Sarr is locked in to play on the right hand side.
Watford Best Players – Fantasy Football Tips
Ismaila Sarr
Sarr was the talisman in last season’s Championship campaign, ending with 13 goals and 10 assists in 39 appearances.
He also had the most shots in the Watford squad (2.2), and only created 0.1 less key passes than most (1.1) per game.
The Senegalese winger is also proven in the Premier League; last time out he scored seven and assisted four despite a slow start.
When in the squad, Sarr was involved in a substantial amount of Watford’s goals (42%).
Watford Under the Radar Players – Fantasy Football Tips
Imran Louza
New signing Louza will be Watford’s penalty taker when skipper Troy Deeney isn’t on the pitch (which will be quite often).
Last season, Louza scored seven and assisted three for Ligue 1 outfit Nantes, who only survived via the relegation play-off.
That being said, five of those seven goals were from the penalty spot, so he is heavily reliant on them. He also likes a long shot; more than half of his 1.1 shots per game last season were from outside of the box.
I think he will be getting into the box more frequently though, seeing as he is likely to play the most advanced role out of the midfield three.
Kiko Femenia
The Spanish right-back offers the most attacking threat from Watford defenders. Femenia made four assists in 37 appearances, and completed 31 key passes which was more than all the other defenders combined.
Unlike Masina, his spot in the side isn’t under much jeopardy.
Daniel Bachmann
After Bachmann was given his chance mid-way through last season, he thoroughly impressed. The Austrian kept 13 clean sheets in 23 matches and went from not being in the national team to becoming first choice for the Euros.
His impressive shot-stopping skills will be tested regularly in this campaign and he should rack up many save points.
Watford Players to Avoid – Fantasy Football Tips
Troy Deeney is worth avoiding given the depth Xisco has in the centre forward position. Deeney also only scored one open play goal in 19 starts last season.
Premier League Fantasy Football 2021/22 Tips – Team Previews and Best Players
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