Three ways to back your team: Watford

Silva looking to make an impression

Watford continued their tradition of changing managers in the summer, swapping Walter Mazzarri for Marco Silva. Mazzarri had only signed up the summer before, helping The Hornets beat relegation, thanks to a 17^th place finish.

Barring some kind of miracle season, it’s very likely Silva, who joined from Hull City, won’t be given much more than a year himself, but that depends on results – we hope. So, what will the Portuguese manager bring to Vicarage Road? Here’s three ways to back Watford this season…..

Tough season ahead

The blame can’t really be laid at Silva’s door, but he was in charge last season when Hull City were relegated, and it wouldn’t come as the biggest surprise in football to see him take another side down in Watford. We imagine, if they were in trouble at Christmas, Silva would get the punt, but the manager himself is hoping that won’t be an issue. The club have been ambitious in the transfer market so far, bringing in Chelsea young-gun Nathaniel Chalobah on a five-year deal. The talented midfielder turned out 10 times for The Blues last season, and played a part in the success of England’s U21 team at the Euros. The 22-year-old returns to the club, having been on loan here in 2012. A lot more work is needed to ensure they are capable of beating the drop however. Watford finished just two wins better than the relegation zone last season – Coral have them at 11/8 to go down.

We’re giving Watford a 42-point start

Three sides are more likely to be relegated this season – Huddersfield, Brighton and Burnley – so Watford are not safe by anyone’s standards. A bottom-half finish looks nailed on however, and our football guys have them at 1/14 to finish 11^th to 20^th. The handicap markets have also been released, so what would it take for Watford to win the league? A lot, apparently, and Coral are giving them a 42-point head-start. That wouldn’t have been anywhere near enough to help them last term, Watford finishing on 40, champions Chelsea posting a winning score of 93. With English football having five representatives in the Champions League this term, we are expecting a far more competitive year ahead. The Hornets +42 on the handicap is 15/1.

Take Silva in the match bet vs Wagner

Lastly, with not an awful lot for fans of the London club to get excited about, we take a look at the match bet offers. Placing Watford alongside a selection of similar teams, all you have to do here is correctly call who will finish higher in the table. It doesn’t matter where the two chosen sides end, first and second or last and second last, as long as Watford pick up more points than their opponents. They have been paired with the likes of West Ham, Newcastle and Crystal Palace, but are expected to fare better than newly promoted Huddersfield. The Terriers will set manager David Wagner a task of beating the drop in their first season, 4/9 says Silva’s Watford finish higher.

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