Watford (Premier League Prognosis).

Watford promoted to Premier League in 2020/2021 Season as runners-up on 91 points.

Watford's performances in the Championship last season was not far off the standard set by the champions Norwich, finishing just 6 points behind the leaders. They posed the best defensive record in the league and returned to the top-flight in quite a comfortable fashion. Similar to Norwich, the short-term goal for head coach Xisco Muñoz and his side is to survive the drop on their return to the league and in terms of their long-term ambitions, they need to embark on a mission to establishing themselves as Premier League usual, rather than dropping up and down on a year or 2 basis. Their side is not too dissimilar to that of the team relegated in 2020 with the club managing to keep hold of their star men such as Ismaila Sarr and Joao Pedro, their two standout performers in the Championship last season. They have also brought in proven Premier League players in Danny Rose and Moussa Sissoko from Tottenham in a bid guide the rest of the side towards improving their general play and adapting to the demands of the top flight as quick as possible. That was a huge problem for Watford the last time they were in the Premier League, a slow start and a somewhat reluctance to match the intensity of the rest of the division. They have also signed Emmanuel Dennis from Club Brugge, in an attempt to bolster their attack and to replace the void left by Troy Deeney, who recently announced his exit after 11 glimmering years at the club. His exit is not just a positional issue for Muñoz but his presence both on and off the pitch will be a huge loss to Watford's dressing room. I would not be surprised if he were to take up a coaching role in the club in the next few years. His goals will also be a huge miss, and in truth this was an issue that hampered Watford in 2020, as they scored just 36 goals, the third lowest at the time. However, Watford's growing confidence defensively will most likely be their common route to victory as they league develops. Weather or not they can increase that bit if quality to meet the league's strength is the main concern for Watford this year, as it always is for the teams coming up from the Championship. Personally, it is so difficult to tell how Watford's season will transpire. If they use the renowned atmosphere inside Vicarage Road I'm positive they will accumulate enough points from home fixtures to survive the drop but without sounding too repetitive, it is imperative to remind ourselves of the fine margins at the bottom of the league, them two or three fixtures that can make all the difference. The quality is definitely evident in this Watford side but it is of paramount importance that the gap in standard is matched or at least shortened in order for them to compete on a weekly basis. We all seen what Aston Villa, Burnley and Brighton have done to try and establish themselves as top flight regulars and they are still in the process of asserting this. Can Watford grab that marginal edge over their rivals down at the bottom of the league or will it be another damning in the top flight for the Hornets?

MAJOR TRANSFERS.

IN- Moussa Sissoko- (Tottenham Hotspur, £5 million).

Danny Rose- (Tottenham Hotspur, free).

Emmanuel Dennis- (Club Brugge, £3 million).

Josh King- (free agent).

Ozan Tufan (Fenerbahce, loan).

Juraj Kucka- (Parma Calcio, £2 million).

OUT- Troy Deeney- (Birmingham, undisclosed fee).

Isaac Success- (Udinese, undisclosed fee).

Will Hughes- (Crystal Palace, £6 million).