Preview: Watford vs. Leeds United

The question marks that hung over Leeds United before the start of this season are still firmly lingering over the club going into Saturday's match against Watford at Vicarage Road.

No-one knew quite what to expect from David Hockaday's side this season, with a raft of new players, an inexperienced manager and an eccentric owner combining for a combustible recipe.

It certainly hasn't been a good start to the season from the Yorkshire outfit, but the early signs are that they could be as unpredictable as owner Massimo Cellino.

Two wins and two defeats from their four matches in all competitions so far this season may not look disastrous at first glance, but they have been comfortably beaten twice in the league and were fortunate to come away with three points against Middlesbrough last Saturday.

That victory, and Billy Sharp's late winner on his debut, certainly provide some positives for the Leeds faithful, but they will be under no illusions that improvement is still needed.

Whether such an overhaul of players is conducive to that remains to be seen, but the new signings continue to arrive at Elland Road, with two more additions since the defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion on Tuesday.

One signing who had looked promising was Souleymane Doukara, but the striker has been ruled out for up to a month with an ankle injury.

That means that Sharp and Matt Smith, who recently signed a new deal with the club, are likely to remain up front together as the Whites look to improve their meagre tally of one goal from the opening three games.

At the back, meanwhile, Gaetano Berardi remains suspended having been sent off in the narrow League Cup win over Accrington Stanley.

Things have been a little smoother for Watford so far this season, with two wins and a defeat from their opening three games of the season.

Manager Giuseppe Sannino is unlikely to pay too much heed to his side's 3-0 loss at the hands of Norwich City last weekend given that Joel Ekstrand was sent off after just two minutes.

The Italian boss is more likely to focus on the comfortable wins over Bolton Wanderers and Rotherham United, both of which saw his side keep a clean sheet as well as picking up the three points.

The future of Troy Deeney has been a hot topic at Vicarage Road this summer, but it appears that he may now be staying at the club. He will once again start up front alongside Matej Vydra if the latter passes a late fitness test.

Craig Cathcart remains injured, while Ekstrand is still suspended, but Lewis McGugan may be restored to the squad despite speculation over his future.

Recent form

Watford: WWLW

Leeds: LWWL

Possible starting lineups

Watford: Gomez; Tamas, Angella, Hoban; Paredes, Munari, Andrews, Anya, Dyer; Deenet, Vydra

Leeds: Silvestri; Byram, Pearce, Cooper, Warnock; Bianchi, Austin, Murphy, Tonge; Sharp, Smith

Sports Mole says: 3-1