Know Your Opponent: Watford - Transfers, Form, News & Stats

Arsenal return to Premier League action having picked up seven points from their opening four matches of the season. As the defense inches closer to full health, the focus will once again be on the Gunners attack as they travel to Vicarage Road this Sunday. Anything other than three points against the team bottom of the table and undergoing a manager change would be considered a disappointing result.

Last Season: Watford finished 11th in the Premier League, with 14 wins, 8 draws, and 16 losses. The Hornets scored 52 goals, conceeding 59 and were 16 points clear of the relegation zone. They advanced to the final of the FA Cup, beating Newscastle, QPR, Crystal Palace and Wolves along the way. But fell hard in a 6-0 loss to Manchester City.

Manager: Quique Sánchez Flores is back in charge after Javi Gracia was let go on September 7th. Flores returns to the Watford bench after managing the club from 2015 to 2016.

Ground: Vicarage Road. Opened in 1922, the ground has underwent renovations most off-seasons since 2015. It now sits 22,220 with plans to expand to 30,000.

Series History: 17W-1D-12L dating back to their first meeting in 1906. Arsenal have won 10 of the 12 Premier League match ups between the two sides, including the last three in a row with a combined score of 6-0.

Transfers In: A fairly quite summer window, with just four players brought into the first team. Young Brazilian forward Joao Pedro, Ismaila Sarr, a winger from Rennes, and West Brom vet Craig Dawson. But the most notable addition was former Arsenal and Manchester United forward Danny Welbeck who left the Gunners on a free.

Transfers Out: The club had a handful of first team exits, most notably Stefano Okaka, Tommie Hoban, and Miguel Britos. But for the most part it’s a fairly stable roster.

Injuries: As noted in yesterday’s Team News post, Watford’s only known injury is to forward Troy Deeney (knee). As of Friday morning the club had not yet released any further information on players that may miss Sunday’s match.

Form: Watford are off to a rough start in 2019/20 going 1-1-3 so far in their opening five matches. The club sits 20th in the Premier League table with just one point having lost to Brighton, Everton and West Ham before earning a draw against Newcastle. The Horents have conceded eight goals, scoring only twice during that time. Their sole win thus far was against Coventry City in the League Cup.

Last Match: 1-1 draw on the road against Newcastle. 3-4-2-1 formation, with Andrew Gray as the lone forward.

Player Stats: Will Hughes and Andre Gray are the only players yet to score in the Premier League for Watford, each with one goal a piece. Eight players have started all four opening fixtures, but with a new manager in place and their poor form a number of personnel changes wouldn’t be a surprise.

You can watch Arsenal take on Watford this Sunday at 11:30 am ET / 8:30 am PT on NBC Sports.