Watford

Watford manager Alessio Dionisi spoke to BBC Three Counties Radio after his side's 1-0 defeat by Bristol City.

"In this moment it's not easy for us. I'm not happy for the result but my team today played at the maximum because at the start there were six young players," he said.

"It wasn't the right result but my team played in a different respect to the last match against Stoke City.

"It's not easy because I wanted to change between one match and another match but it's impossible in this moment because we have few players.

"Now it's important to arrive at the international break because it's important to recover a lot of players."

Bristol City will hope to return to winning ways when Watford visit Ashton Gate on Friday night (20:00 BST).

The Robins' three-game winning run came to an end at Southampton last Saturday and they were then beaten at home by Lincoln City on Tuesday.

Watford are one of seven Championship sides yet to win away so far this season.

• Bristol City have won just two of their past 10 Championship meetings with Watford (D4 L4), and could lose back-to-back league games against the Hornets for the first time since September 2010.

• After their 2-1 win in this exact fixture last season, Watford could enjoy back-to-back league wins away to Bristol City for just the third time in their history, after October 1947 and March 2012.

• Bristol City have lost six of their past nine league games at Ashton Gate (W3), while overall they could lose three league matches in a row for only the second time since the start of 2025 (March 2026 previously).

• Watford have lost seven of their past eight away games in the Championship (D1), including both of their past two without scoring.

• Bristol City's Rio Cardines leads the Championship this season for assists (five) and chances created (24), while only Jarrod Bowen (2.9) has a higher expected assists total than his 2.4.

Much has been made of how thin Watford's squad has been in the first month of the football season.

The day before the transfer window shut, there had been more outgoings than incomings. Having just two recognised centre-backs for the whole of August was staggering.

That changed after deadline day, but by then the damage had already been done.

The Watford board will argue they were waiting for better, younger targets and weren't going to be forced into making signings for the sake of it. Now the market has shut, and if the squad was fully fit, it would be considered decent enough with the exception of midfield.

The Hornets did make early transfers, of course, and once again some of the recruitment was excellent. Iker Bravo has been a sensation, Federico Ravaglia is a goalkeeper upgrade, Jordan Zemura and Omar Traore are more than solid full-back options and Soumaila Coulibaly and Branimir Mlacic have also looked good.

The problem has been with head coach Alessio Dionisi forced into playing the same players game after game. In recent weeks, often playing twice a week, injuries have mounted and tiredness has set in, affecting their form in August and now September.

Image source, Getty Images

To add to his difficulties, the ones coming in late have been nowhere near fully match-fit let alone match-sharp, and yet some have found themselves in a depleted squad at times.

Watford haven't named the maximum eight substitutes in the past two games and, unusually, have had two goalkeepers on the bench for the past five. It's why Dionisi has repeatedly said "it's not easy" before and after games.

For the Italian boss, the international break can't come soon enough - which for a Watford head coach is ironic considering the timings of recent sackings at Vicarage Road.

After the Bristol City game on Friday, the Hornets have three weeks to recover, regroup and prepare for the next stage of the season.

By then Watford will almost certainly be playing catch-up, and while one can understand the board's reluctance to spend in early August, wanting to wait for better, later options, the policy has rather backfired.

The Hornets will eventually have a competitive squad, but by then it could be late October. If the ultimate goal is to challenge for promotion, they've already given themselves a bit of a mountain to climb.

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Watford boss Alessio Dionisi spoke to BBC Three Counties Radio after their defeat to Stoke City. For a written selection of his quotes, click here.

Watford ended a two-game losing run by beating Preston 2-1 on Tuesday evening.

Stoke City head to Vicarage Road on Saturday (15:00 BST) with only a point from their three away games in the Championship.

• Watford have won four of their past five home league matches against Stoke City (D1), after losing three in a row.

• Stoke won their last Championship game against Watford 3-1 in March last season, but have not won consecutive meetings in the second tier since December 2004 (four in a row).

• After their 2-1 win over Preston, Watford could win back-to-back Championship games for the first time in 2026.

• Stoke are winless in 12 away league games (D3 L9), their longest run since going 13 without a win in the Premier League in April 2018.

A 2-1 win over Preston is a big result for Watford, according to head coach Alessio Dionisi.

The Hornets ended a four-match winless streak in the Championship as they came from behind at Vicarage Road on Tuesday night.

"I am very happy for my team, because it's a big, big result," Dionisi told BBC Three Counties Radio.

"The match wasn't easy. In the first half we played so-so but I understand and know the situation, it is not easy for my players at the moment."

Watford had lost their past two games without scoring which had already placed the Italian under pressure with the club having gone through three permanent appointments last season.

"Now it is important to stay together - the atmosphere was fantastic," he added.

"There was a lot of emotion and the reaction in the second half was perfect."

Watford are 11th in the Championship table and are at home to Stoke City on Saturday, 12 September (15:00 BST).

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Watford are hoping to end a run of just one point from their past three Championship games when they meet Preston North End on Tuesday (19:45 BST).

By contrast, Preston collected their first three points of the campaign and ended a four-game losing streak against Blackburn Rovers at the weekend.

• Watford have won just one of their past eight Championship games against Preston (D5 L2), a 5-1 away victory in December 2023.

• Preston are unbeaten in four league visits to Watford (W1 D3), this after losing three of their previous four prior (D1).

• Watford have only lost one of their past nine midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) home games in the Championship (W5 D3), a 2-0 defeat by Ipswich in February last season.

• Preston could lose each of their first three away games of a league season for the first time since 2018-19 (first five).

• Preston's Paul Heckingbottom is unbeaten in five league meetings with Watford (W3 D2) since a 1-0 defeat while in charge of Sheffield United in August 2022.

After a winning start to the season, Watford have failed to take victory in their past three Championship games and will be hoping to do at the Hawthorns on Saturday (15:00 BST).

West Bromwich Albion are winless across their past two and will be seeking a win of their own to keep them in the upper half of the table.

• After their 3-0 win in April, West Brom are looking for back-to-back league victories over Watford for the first time since November 2007 (3 in a row).

• Watford have lost both of their last two away league games at West Brom, only losing three in a row at the Baggies once before (Oct 1983 to Dec 1985).

• West Brom are unbeaten in each of their last nine home league games (W3 D6), and could start a campaign unbeaten in three at home for the ninth time across their last 12 Championship seasons.

• Watford have won just one of their last 12 league games (D4 L7), a 2-1 victory over Southampton on MD1 this season.

• Only Wolves' Mateus Mané (24) has attempted more dribbles in the Championship so far this season than Watford duo Iker Bravo and Othmane Maamma (19 each).

Image source, Getty Images

Transfer deadline day is upon us and today is the final chance for your EFL club to finalise any business until January.

The transfer window closes at 23:00 BST, so we might have some late night scrambles to get deals over the line.

There has already been plenty of movement this summer and whether it's a busy or quiet day for your club, you will be able to keep across it all on BBC Sport.

Follow our EFL deadline day live text coverage throughout the day here

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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Championship match between Watford and West Ham.

Here are some of your comments:

Watford fans

Melvyn: It is a reasonable start for a club that were supposedly destined for relegation. We still need defenders and probably a striker if we have any chance at all to do well this season.

Watman83: West Ham didn't look like a team ready for a return to the Prem.

Watford now has a good midfield this season with a solid looking defence. These new players have settled in and have made going to the matches enjoyable. This was my 12 year old daughter's first home game and she wants to come to another match! I hope the doubters about Watford are hopeful now.

Stan: It was a solid performance, shame about one poor lapse in concentration and they swoop up the chance. I think five points from three very tough games is a good start and the beginnings of a decent foundation.

Image source, Shutterstock

West Ham fans

Nicholas: Nobody plays 4-4-1-1 and scores enough goals. All the top Championship teams are playing 4-2-3-1 and scoring four or five. I know they had loads of possession but that's only because Watford sat back to get a draw. We need to improve quickly or we are not going back up.

Richard: One shot on target, experienced striker on the bench, unconvincing defence. Two home games to come, if we don't get at least four points from them, Nuno should be out of a job by the end of September. Something is wrong with the tactics and coaching.

R A: The whole balance of the team is wrong. Taty and Piroe don't fit together. Piroe needs to play with Orford and Musaka behind him. Nuno's tactics seem utterly mysterious to me.

Watford boss Alessio Dionisi told BBC Three Counties Radio he was pleased with his side's draw against West Ham United and discussed whether the club would be bringing in new recruits before the summer transfer window closes.