Watford take on QPR at Vicarage Road on Saturday as the Championship season gets underway.
Watford host Queens Park Rangers at Vicarage Road on the opening day of the Championship season on Saturday.
The Hornets will be hoping for much-improved campaign after recording a disappointing 11th-placed finish last season.
It was another year of managerial instability at Vicarage Road, with Rob Edwards, Slaven Bilic and Chris Wilder all struggling to improve Watford’s fortunes.
Former Barnsley and West Bromwich Albion boss Valerien Ismael has taken charge of the Hornets and he will be keen to bring some much-needed stability to the club.
Ismael will be without Joao Pedro and Ismaila Sarr after the pair joined Brighton & Hove Albion and Marseille respectively, while there have been a number of other departures, including Britt Assombalonga, Leandro Bacuna, Craig Cathcart, Tom Cleverley, Dan Gosling, Mario Gaspar, Domingos Quina, William Troost-Ekong and Christian Kabasale.
Watford have brought in Tom Ince, Rhys Healey, Jake Livermore, Matheus Martins and Jamal Lewis so far this summer, but Ismael will be keen to strengthen further with the squad looking a little light in certain areas.
QPR sat top of the Championship table in late October, but they narrowly avoided relegation after a distarous second half of the season.
Ziyad Larkeche, Taylor Richards, Paul Smyth, Asmir Begovic, Morgan Fox and Jack Colback have all arrived at Loftus Road this summer, while the R’s managed to tie star striker Lyndon Dykes down to a new contract.
The R’s have lost goalkeeper Seny Dieng to Middlesbrough and the likes of Rob Dickie, Stefan Johansen, Niko Hamalainen, Luke Amos, Leon Balogun, Chris Martin, Conor Masterson and Olamide Shodipo have also left the club.
What should we watch out for in Watford v QPR?
QPR’s defensive issues
After the exits of Dickie and Balogun, the R’s are short on numbers at the back.
Jake Clarke-Salter is currently sidelined and Jimmy Dunne was stretched off with a shoulder injury in the 5-0 pre-season friendly defeat to Oxford United at the Kassam Stadium on Saturday.
It could mean that Ainsworth has no fit senior centre-backs available for the trip to Vicarage Road, with the 50-year-old admitting he is hopeful Dunne is not out for long.
“Losing Jimmy today just compounds things,” Ainsworth told the club’s official website. “We’re struggling for centre-halves with Jake injured.
“We don’t know the extent of it yet but we’re hoping he’ll recover soon.”
The Hoops conceded 71 goals last season, the second most in the Championship and on the evidence of Saturday’s game, they have not tightened up and it could be tough for their makeshift defence against the Hornets.
Watford’s attacking options
It should not be underestimated how much of a loss Pedro and Sarr will be for Watford.
The pair were two of the division’s outstanding players and will be impossible to replace, but Ismael does still have some strong attacking options at his disposal.
Ince performed well for Reading last season despite the Royals’ relegation and he should thrive in a more successful side, while the likes of Martins, Healey, Ken Sema, Yaser Asprilla, Vakoun Bayo and Samuel Kalu can all provide a threat.
It will be intriguing to see who Ismael picks as the Hornets begin life without Pedro and Sarr.
QPR’s style of play
The R’s secured survival last season with back-to-back away victories at Burnley and Stoke City, but in those games, they did not have more than 20% possession.
That style of play is unsustainable if the Hoops are to stay in the division again this season and Ainsworth will need to employ a more expansive brand of football.
Ainsworth must find a way to get the best out of the R’s creative talents such as Chris Willock and Ilias Chair and Saturday’s game will be the first evidence of whether his style has evolved over the summer.
