Two years after their relegation from the Premier League, Watford are back in the big time following their automatic promotion from the Championship.
The Hornets had five years in the top flight before their relegation in 2019-20, but they were able to bounce back at the first attempt.
Nine new players have joined the club this summer, with relatively inexperienced head coach Xisco Munoz the man tasked with keeping them in the Premier League.
Here, Sports Mole previews Watford's 2021-22 campaign and takes an in-depth look at what the supporters can expect during the course of the season.
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FIXTURES
Watford start life back in the Premier League with a home game against Aston Villa on August 14. They then travel to Brighton & Hove Albion before making a trip to north London to face Tottenham Hotspur in late August.
The Hornets could endure a difficult November period, with encounters against Arsenal, Manchester United, Leicester City and Chelsea, before hosting Premier League champions Manchester City on December 4.
Ten of their next 11 games that follow this run will see them face only one of the so-called top six clubs, so Munoz will be keen to accumulate points during this period if they are to avoid a potential relegation scrap.
Watford's penultimate game of the campaign will see them host Leicester at Vicarage Road and their final fixture is at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea on May 22.
> Click here to see all of Watford's 2021-22 fixtures
SUMMER SIGNINGS
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In
Imran Louza (£9m, Nantes)
Emmanuel Dennis (£3.6m, Club Brugge)
Mattie Pollock (£270,000, Grimsby Town)
Kwadwo Baah (£150,000, Rochdale)
Danny Rose (free transfer, Tottenham Hotspur)
Joshua King (free transfer, Everton)
Ashley Fletcher (free transfer, Middlesbrough)
Juraj Kucka (loan, Parma)
Peter Etebo (loan, Stoke City)
Out
Craig Dawson (£2m, West Ham United)
Ben Wilmot (1.6m, Stoke City)
Philip Zinckernagel (loan, Nottingham Forest)
Pontus Dahlberg (loan, Doncaster Rovers)
Adalberto Penaranda (loan, Las Palmas)
Jorge Segura (loan, CD America)
Achraf Lazaar (free agent)
Carlos Sanchez (free agent)
Jerome Sinclair (free agent)
Total spent to date: £13.2m
Total received to date: £3.6m
Net transfer balance: -£9.6m
SQUAD
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Goalkeepers: Ben Foster, Daniel Bachmann, Rob Elliot, Adam Parkes
Defenders: Jeremy Ngakia, William Troost-Ekong, Adam Masina, Craig Cathcart, Kiko Femenia, Christian Kabasele, Francisco Sierralta, Marc Navarro, Mattie Pollock, Danny Rose
Midfielders: Tom Cleverley, Nathaniel Chalobah, Dan Gosling, Will Hughes, Domingos Quina, Tom Dele-Bashiru, Imran Louza, Juraj Kucka, Peter Etebo
Forwards: Troy Deeney, Joao Pedro, Ken Sema, Andre Gray, Isaac Success, Ismaila Sarr, Stipe Perica, Emmanuel Dennis, Joshua King, Kwadwo Baah, Dapo Mebude, Cucho Hernandez
> Click here for full details of Watford's 2021-22 squad
STRONGEST XI
STAR PLAYER – Ismaila Sarr
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Despite being linked with a move away from Vicarage Road ever since the Hornets were relegated two years ago, Ismaila Sarr has stayed with the club and proved to be a crucial player in their push for promotion.
The 23-year-old was Watford's top goalscorer in the Championship, with 13 strikes to his name, and he won the club's Player of the Season award as a result.
The Senegalese winger already has Premier League experience under his belt, after scoring five goals and providing seven assists during the 2019-20 season, following his club-record £40m move from Rennes.
Arguably Watford's most talented asset, Sarr is likely to be the one to get the fans excited, someone that can provide that bit of magic in the final third, and with his strength and lightning pace down the flanks, he has all the attributes to pose a real threat this campaign.
MANAGER – Xisco Munoz
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It is fair to say that hardly anybody had heard of Xisco Munoz when he was appointed as Watford head coach midway through last season. The 40-year-old has, however, impressed many and will be looking to build on a successful promotion to the top flight.
Prior to being propelled into the managerial limelight at Vicarage Road, Xisco had limited experienced in the dugout. The Spaniard's first job as a head coach came in August 2020 with Dinamo Tbilisi, where he won the Georgian league title in December, before being poached by the Hornets in the same month.
Even with just five months of experience, this was clearly enough to convince the Watford board that he was the right man for the job, and so far his appointment has been a success.
After Munoz replaced Vladimir Ivic, the Hornets rediscovered their form and went on to win 17 of their next 24 league matches, conceding just 13 goals in the process.
The former Valencia and Real Betis winger has implemented an attacking style which seems to be a better fit for the players at his disposal, compared to the rigid system his predecessor opted to go with.
Having made a good impression in the Championship, it will be intriguing to see how Munoz fares as a Premier League manager against stronger opposition.
Far more experienced Spanish coaches – such as Oscar Garcia, Quique Sanchez Flores and Javi Gracia – have taken charge of the Hornets in the top flight and they were all sacked shortly after their appointments. Munoz will certainly be hoping his tenure can last much longer.
LAST SEASON – 2nd in Championship
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Even though Watford celebrated automatic promotion last season, their campaign was not all plain sailing to begin with.
The Hornets began with Serbian head coach Vladimir Ivic, however he was sacked less than a week before Christmas after just four months in charge, with the club in fifth place and with nine wins from 20 league matches.
Watford then moved quickly to appoint Xisco Munoz, who began life at Vicarage Road with an impressive 1-0 victory against eventual champions Norwich City on Boxing Day.
From there, the Hornets put together a good run of form, winning seven and drawing two of their opening 10 games in 2021. A slight blip losing 1-0 to Bournemouth in February was then followed by an impressive run of eight games unbeaten, including six victories.
Watford secured second place and promotion to the Premier League for the fourth time in their history with a narrow 1-0 win at home to Millwall on April 24. The Hornets, who accumulated 91 points and won 27 of their 46 league games, conceded the fewest goals in the division (30) and finished with the highest number of clean sheets (23).
PREDICTION
Avoiding relegation is certainly Watford's priority for this season, though it remains to be seen whether their squad has the quality to stay clear of the bottom three.
A lot has changed at Vicarage Road both on and off the pitch since their demotion two years ago, and Munoz is confident that he has the foundations in place for the club to compete and survive at this level.
However, with other top tier sides around them having also bolstered their squads, Watford could be in for another difficult year in the Premier League. Another relegation battle could be on the cards this season and although they will be desperate to avoid it, we can see them getting dragged into the drop zone.
The Hornets ended up in 19th place two years ago and that is where we have predicted them to finish in 2021-22.
VERDICT: 19th
Oliver Thomas
