Talking Tactics | Watford v Swansea City
Following their 2-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers, Swansea City head out on the road to take on Watford on Wednesday night (7.45pm).
Ahead of the clash, WhoScored.com preview the match up looking at what to expect from the Hornets, the key battle and a key stat.
What to expect from Watford
Valerien Ismael’s side currently find themselves situated in mid-table, in 12th position, with a 12-point gap from the play-off spots.
Watford have won just one of their last six Championship matches, losing the other five. They come into this clash on the back of a 1-0 defeat to Millwall at the weekend.
The Hornets have scored 50 goals this season, ranking 10th in the league, and have conceded 48 goals. They have found success with efforts from long range, and have scored more goals from outside the box (15) than any other side in the Championship this term.
Ismael has adopted a few different formations already this season, but most frequently they have been setting up in a 4-3-3, which they are likely to go with in this fixture.
Wesley Hoedt is the only Watford player to play every single minute of Championship action this season.
A Key Battle
Given Watford’s success this season shooting from range, goalkeeper Carl Rushworth will need to be at the top of his game at Vicarage Road.
He has been in fine form of late and currently ranks second in the league for saves with only Rotherham’s Viktor Johansson making more (140) than Rushworth’s 124 this season.
Watford’s Ben Hamer has had a strong season himself. With a WhoScored.com rating of 6.83 he is the fifth highest-ranked stopper in the league and is the third-highest rated player in Watford’s ranks this season.
A Key Stat
The WhoScored.com match forecast suggests Swansea may see success from set-pieces given that their statistically calculated strengths include attacking set-pieces and shooting from direct free-kicks.
Interestingly, Watford rank fifth in the league for most fouls, conceding an average of 12.5 per game this term. In comparison, Swansea rank 12th, conceding an average of 10.6 fouls per game.