Watfordvs.Stoke

The Hornets produced a five-star performance to advance into the next stage of the EFL Cup in midweek, whilst the Potters made easy work of fourth-tier opposition in the competition to progress.

Match preview

After some concerning pre-season results over the summer, including losses to Reading, Gillingham and Wycombe Wanderers, Watford have turned on the style during the opening week of the 2024-25 season, securing back-to-back wins to commence their Championship and EFL Cup adventures on positive notes.

Regardless of a brilliant Duncan Watmore brace for Millwall last weekend at The Den, the Hornets were able to earn maximum points from their first second-tier contest of the term thanks to extraordinary strikes from Edo Kayembe and Giorgi Chakvetadze, before substitute Mileta Rajovic arrived on the scene to net a last-minute winner.

Watford opted to make a raft of changes to their XI for the start of their EFL Cup journey against MK Dons, although there was not a reduction in performance levels at Vicarage Road, with Saturday's hosts recording a five-goal success to set up a second-round clash with Wayne Rooney's Plymouth Argyle.

Following a disappointing two-goal return during his debut season at the Hornets during 2023-24, Tom Ince netted a sensational hat-trick against Tuesday night's League Two visitors to already better his previous tally, with head coach Tom Cleverley insistent that the former Reading star is set to be a key man this campaign.

After a sobering midtable finish last season under a mixture of management, Watford need to improve their record at Vicarage Road if they are to make a challenge for promotion to the Premier League, with Saturday's hosts collecting just 27 points from 23 league matches at their Hertfordshire base in 2023-24.

With plenty of concerns around the side's attacking firepower and a lack of a central striker, Stoke City are doing their utmost to keep things tidy at the back, with the Staffordshire club recording consecutive clean sheets across the Championship and EFL Cup over the past week.

It was a battle for Midlands supremacy on the opening weekend of the Championship season as Mark Robins's Coventry City rocked up at the bet365 Stadium, where the Potters had to be patient for a game-winning moment, with ex-Chelsea youngster Lewis Baker coming off the bench to seal maximum points.

As was the case with Watford during their EFL Cup quest on Tuesday, Stoke made a host of alterations to their XI for the jaunt to League Two Carlisle United, with second-half strikes from debutant Freddie Anderson and youngster Emre Tezgel securing a battle against Leeds United-conquering Middlesbrough in the next round.

After their respective opening weekend successes, the Potters are level on points with Watford in the very early Championship standings, with Saturday's visitors to Vicarage Road hoping to leave years of midtable mediocrity behind them and challenge for a top-six spot.

Stoke earned four points from their two second-tier bouts with the Hornets during the 2023-24 term, including a respectable point in Hertfordshire on December 29, when goals from Jake Livermore and Ryan Mmaee meant that the pair shared the spoils, despite the hosts having 10 men for the majority of the second half.

Watford Championship form:

Watford form (all competitions):

Stoke City Championship form:

Stoke City form (all competitions):

Team News

Playing for the first time since his summer switch from Celtic, attacker Rocco Vata impressed for Watford on Tuesday night and could earn his maiden minutes in the Championship this weekend.

Making his second debut for the club, Jonathan Bond kept a clean sheet against MK Dons with minimal fuss, however Austrian Daniel Bachmann will come back into the XI on Saturday.

Stoke remain without the services of former Blackburn Rovers and Birmingham City forward Sam Gallagher, who is expected to be back next month following his recovery from a calf injury.

The Potters' options at centre-back remain limited due to the absence of Michael Rose, with the 28-year-old suffering a sprained ankle during pre-season.

As a result, a defensive pairing of Ben Wilmot and Ben Gibson is almost a certainty for the visitors, especially after Stoke's shutout against Coventry last time out in the Championship.

Watford possible starting lineup:

Bachmann; Sierralta, Porteous, Pollock; Ngakia, Dele-Bashiru, Kayembe, Andrews; Sissoko, Chakvetadze, Rajovic

Stoke City possible starting lineup:

Johansson; Tchamadeu, Wilmot, Gibson, Bocat; Thompson, Baker, Burger; Gooch, Manhoef, Tezgel

We say: Watford 2-1 Stoke City

Scoring on eight occasions during their first two matches of the season, Watford have hit the ground running under the permanent stewardship of Cleverley.

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