Preview | Watford (A)

The Game  
Watford v Argyle. Vicarage Road. Saturday, 29 March. 12.30pm. Sky Bet Championship. 

The Opposition 
Watford are 10th in the Championship, with 52 points from their 38 games. They have won 15, drawn seven and lost 16. They are five points outside of the play-off positions, so retain hope of extending their season.

The Hornets began with three straight wins, then won just two of their next eight. Fortunes picked up from the end of October, with Watford winning two in a row – including a 6-2 victory at Sheffield Wednesday – and would win six in 11 in that extended spell, losing just twice.

Around the turn of the year, Watford lost three in a row, against Cardiff City, Queens Park Rangers and Sheffield United. They rallied with a draw in a return to Cardiff, and a win over Derby County at home, but obtained just one point from the next five games.

A win at Middlesbrough ended that run, and they followed up with a win over rivals Luton Town, then drew at Stoke City to kick off March. Watford lost at home to Millwall, then beat Swansea City on their own patch, before signing off before the international break with defeat at Oxford United.

The Gaffer 
Tom Cleverley was working as Watford’s Under-18s coach, in March 2024, when manager Valerian Ismael was dismissed. Cleverley was put in interim charge, and lost just one in seven, before being given the job on a full-time basis. It is his first management job.   

Cleverley came through the ranks at Manchester United and played 79 times for the Red Devils. During his time with United, he had various loans, one of which was at Watford in the Championship in 2009/10, where he scored 11 goals in 33 games. He also had loans with Leicester City, Wigan Athletic and Aston Villa.

Leaving United in 2015, he signed for Everton, where he played for two years, before heading back to Vicarage Road on loan once more. He made the move to Watford permanent in the summer of 2017. After 146 games in his second spell as a Hornet, Cleverley retired because of injury in 2023. Cleverley played 13 times for England.   

The Squad 
Mattie Pollock has been a mainstay at the heart of Watford’s defence. The central defender started life at Grimsby and moved to Watford in the summer of 2021. The son of former Middlesbrough and Manchester City midfielder Jamie Pollock, Mattie spent time on loan with Cheltenham Town and Aberdeen, before beginning to break through at Vicarage Road last season.  

Georgian international Giorgi Chakvetadze (below), 25, will return from a goalscoring international window, in which he notched in his country’s Nations League win over Armenia. Chakvetadze is able to play virtually anywhere across the attacking midfield or forward line, to good effect. Beginning his career at his hometown club, Dinamo Tbilisi, he moved on to spend seven years with Belgian side Gent, with loans to Hamburg, Slovan Bratislava and, finally, Watford, a loan he would then make permanent.

Vakoun Bayo is Watford’s leading goalscorer. He too has been in international action this week, playing for Cote D’Ivoire. On loan from Udinese, he has scored ten times this season, including four against Sheffield Wednesday. He has not scored since 14 January, however, and has been deployed as a substitute, often around the hour mark, in the five games since his sending off against Norwich City on 1 February.

Recent Meetings
The teams met in league action on 22 November, emulating the date by drawing 2-2. Vakoun Bayo put Watford in front, and Andre Gray equalised. Ryan Porteous’s goal looked as though it had won the game for Watford, but Gray scored again in the sixth minute of injury time to save the day.

In the Carabao Cup, in August, Watford won 2-0, thanks to a brace from Mileta Rajovic, who is now with Brondby.

Tickets 
Tickets will now only be available to purchase on the day at Watford – sales are cash only.  

Click here to find a full ticket update. 

A Strip for the Trip
Argyle will wear their white away kit for this game.

Argyle TV 
Argyle TV’s coverage will begin at 10am, with the Argyle TV Breakfast Show, with Erin Black and Aaron Cusack. Charlie Price and Marc Edworthy will then bring you build-up to the game in the Pre-Match Show, available to watch for free on YouTube, before handing over to the ground for commentary provided by Harry Salvidge.

Match passes to watch this game are available to certain international audiences. Click here for more information.

Sky Sports
The game will be available to watch on Sky Sports Football.