Meet the opposition | Watford

23rd October
First team
Watford

As Swansea City prepare to host Watford at the Swansea.com Stadium, we take a closer look at the Hornets.

WHAT'S THEIR STORY?

Established in 1881 as Watford Rovers, the club changed name to its current moniker in 1898. 

Affectionately known as the Hornets or the Golden Boys, Watford gained Football League status in 1920 and, after spending 60 years in the lower divisions, gained promotion to the top-flight for the first time in 1982.  

Under the ownership of Elton John and management of Graham Taylor the club finished as runners-up to Liverpool in that maiden First Division campaign. 

In a golden era for the club, they spent six seasons in the top-flight, and reached the FA Cup final in 1984. 

Recently, Watford have competed in the Premier League in six out of the last eight seasons, but it has been a period of regular managerial upheaval with the Hornets going through 19 managers in the last 11 years. 

The latest change happened during the summer, with Valerien Ismael the man tasked with leading them back to the Premier League following relegation in 2022.

 HOW'S THEIR FORM?

Prior to their weekend win over Sheffield Wednesday, the Hornets had gone five Championship games with a win, losing three of them.

Defeating the Owls gave them a third league win this season, with all three of those victories coming at their Vicarage Road home.

WHO'S THE GAFFER?

Valerien Ismael

Valerien Ismael. The Frenchman was appointed as Watford boss during the summer, and recently signed a three-year extension to his contract with the Hertfordshire club.

He previously had the reins at Besiktas and West Bromwich Albion, but his biggest success as a coach in the English game came with Barnsley.

After succeeding Gerhard Struber, he led the Tykes to the 2021 play-offs where they were beaten by the Swans in the semi-finals.

During his playing career, Ismaël enjoyed spells with Strasbourg, Crystal Palace, Lens, Werder Bremen, Hannover 96 and Bayern Munich.

The former centre-half has vast managerial experience, most notably leading Austrian side LASK to their first-ever Champions League play-off. Ismaël has also had stints in charge of Hannover 96, VfL Wolfsburg II, F.C. Nürnberg, VfL Wolfsburg and Apollon Smyrnis.

WHO'S THE CAPTAIN?

Daniel Bachmann

Daniel Bachmann. The experienced Austrian goalkeeper has been with Watford since 2017, and was named club captain in the summer after Tom Cleverley retired and joined the coaching staff.

Aged 29, Bachmann has spent more than 10 years in English football having joined Stoke City in 2012.

He did not make a senior appearance in his six years with the Potters, but did gain valuable experience during loan spells with Wrexham, Ross County and Bury.

A move to Watford came following his release from Stoke, and he had to bide his time for action outside of a productive loan spell with Kilmarnock.

But he has established himself in the side and become a senior figure, racking up 95 appearances to date.

WHO ARE THE KEY MEN?

Vakoun Bayo

Striker Vakoun Bayo is the leading scorer for Watford so far this term, with four goals and an assist to his name.

The 26-year-old is in his second season with the club after sealing a £5million move from Charleroi in the summer of 2022.

He had a spell back on loan at the Belgian club over the final months of last season, but has been a regular starter for the Hornets this term.

The Ivorian has previously been on the books at Celtic, Toulouse, Waregem and Gent before joining Charleroi.

Full-back Jamal Lewis joined Watford from Newcastle during the summer for an undisclosed fee, bringing to an end his three-year spell on Tyneside.

A Norwich City academy product, Lewis made his first-team breakthrough at Carrow Road as a 19-year-old in December 2017 and soon established himself in the side.

He was a key part of their promotion side during the 2018-19 season and continued to be an integral figure even as they suffered an immediate relegation from the Premier League.

His switch to Newcastle followed but he found game time hard to come by, and he left for Vicarage Road having made 36 appearances for the Magpies.

Experienced centre-half Wesley Hoedt is in his first full season with Watford, having joined them in the January transfer window from Anderlecht.

The widely-travelled Netherlands international started his career with AZ Alkmaar before moving onto Italian club Lazio, who he helped reach the Coppa Italia final in 2017.

A Premier League move to Southampton followed, but his time at St Mary's saw him spend time out on loan with the likes of Celta Vigo, Antwerp and Lazio.

A full-time move to Anderlecht followed prior to his arrival in Hertfordshire earlier this year.