Preview: Stevenage vs. Watford - prediction, team news, lineups

The visitors opened their Championship campaign with a 4-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers on Saturday, while Stevenage started their League One season with a 1-0 win against Northampton Town.

Match preview

Stevenage secured promotion from League Two last season, picking up 85 points from their 46 matches during an excellent 2022-23 campaign, and they are back in the third tier for the first time since 2014.

Boro's main focus for 2023-24 will be to avoid relegation, and they made the perfect start to their season on Saturday, recording a 1-0 victory over Northampton, with Carl Piergianni netting the winner late on.

Steve Evans's side have been very active this summer in terms of recruitment, with nine new players arriving to boost the squad, including Harry Anderson and Louis Thompson from Bristol Rovers and Portsmouth respectively.

There have also been a number of exits, so there will be a fresh look about the squad this season, and the team will be bidding to build on their strong start in League One against Shrewsbury Town on Saturday.

Stevenage last faced Watford at this stage of the League Cup back in August 2014, and it was the latter that recorded a 1-0 victory to progress to the next round of the competition.

Watford, meanwhile, made a strong start to their 2023-24 Championship campaign on Saturday, putting four unanswered goals past QPR at Vicarage Road.

It was just about the perfect afternoon for the Hornets, who finished a disappointing 11th in the second tier of English football last season, but they cannot be ruled out of a promotion race this term.

Now managed by Valerien Ismael, Watford will be back in league action at home to Plymouth Argyle next weekend before also facing Stoke City and Blackburn Rovers in the latter stages of the month.

The Hornets have never won the League Cup, but they have reached the FA Cup final on two previous occasions, including in 2019, when they were beaten by Manchester City.

The EFL Cup is far from a priority for Watford this term, but they will be expecting to overcome their League One opponents and continue to build confidence in the early weeks of the new campaign.

Stevenage form (all competitions):

Watford form (all competitions):

Team News

Stevenage head coach Evans will shuffle his pack for Tuesday's contest, with Nick Freeman, Jake Forster-Caskey and Josh March all set to be introduced into the starting XI.

There should also be a change between the sticks, with 20-year-old Krisztian Hegyi in line for a start, while Kane Smith is set to feature from the first whistle at the back.

A number of academy players could also be included on the bench, with Evans putting more focus on his team's second match of their League One season against Shrewsbury next weekend.

Watford, meanwhile, have not reported any injury concerns, but James Morris is a doubt, having been forced off at the interval against QPR on Saturday.

As a result, 18-year-old Ryan Andrews is set to come in for a start at left-back, while Jake Livermore, Matthew Pollock and Ben Hamer could also be among those to feature in the XI.

Giorgi Chakvetadze made his debut for the Hornets off the bench against QPR but could now come in for his full debut in the EFL Cup first-round contest, while Jamal Lewis might also be involved following his recent loan move from Newcastle United.

Stevenage possible starting lineup:

Heghi; Smith, Burns, Thompson, Butler; Forster-Caskey, MacDonald; March, Freeman, Reid; Pressley

Watford possible starting lineup:

Hamer; Pollock, Porteous, Hoedt, Andrews; Livermore, Kayembe, Asprilla; Chakvetadze, Healey, Kone

We say: Stevenage 0-2 Watford

Watford's side will be very different to the one that started against QPR on Saturday, but Stevenage will also not be at full strength on Tuesday evening. There is a big difference in terms of quality between the two squads, and we are expecting the visitors to comfortably progress to the second round of the competition.

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