Best picks from Watford for Double Gameweek 26
Double Gameweeks can make or break an FPL manager’s season. Get the picks right and a huge green arrow follows, get it wrong and it can really harm your overall rank. So who are the best picks for Double Gameweek 26?
Watford have had a difficult start to life back in the Premier League. They have lost key players to injury and are already on their third manager, Roy Hodgson.
As discussed in our previous article on Hodgson, he is a manager known for building defensively solid teams. Since his arrival midway through Double Gameweek 23 Watford have been trying to improve their defensive solidity.
We take a look at the best picks to own from Watford ahead of their Double Gameweek fixtures against Aston Villa and Palace.
Best picks from Watford: Underlying Stats
The underlying stats make for difficult reading for both Watford fans and FPL managers alike. Over the course of the season. Only three Premier League teams have scored less goals than Watford so far this season. Every club has kept more clean sheets that Watford, although three teams have conceded more goals than the Hornets.
Josh King is top for expected goals (xG), expected assists (xA) and expected goal involvement (xGI) across the Watford team.
However, it is team-mate Emmanuel Dennis who is top for goals in the Watford team this season with eight. Dennis is also top for assists having registered six so far this season.
Since Hodgson’s arrival though the Hornet’s have failed to score a single goal. They have however managed to keep their first clean sheet of the season.
In positive news for Hodgson and FPL managers wanting to invest in Watford for the Double Gameweek Ismaila Sarr is now available again. Sarr could be back in the starting XI this weekend after returning injury and international duty at AFCON. The midfielder played 45 minutes in Gameweek 25, managing 24 touches of the ball, 17 in the final third. Sarr also had three penalty area touches and three attempts on goal, one of which was on target.
The Senegalese international has only made 13 appearances so far this season, however his stats from his previous Premier League campaign look promising. In 41 Premier League appearance’s Sarr has returned 10 goals, seven assists, six clean sheets, 14 bonus points and three double digit hauls.
Whilst Watford have to tighten up defensively, if they want to remain in the Premier League next season they will need to score goals. Sarr will be at the heart of their positive attacking play now available again.
Best picks: Can we invest in the defence?
Even though Watford’s defensive numbers have been poor so far this season, Hodgson is a great defensive manager.
At Crystal Palace, Hodgson nearly also set up with two organised banks of four. This meant that Palace regularly had less possession than their opposition but they were ready to counter attack at will through the likes of Wilf Zaha. This is likely to be the position that Sarr plays for Watford.
Whilst the defenders don’t look investable, goalkeeper Ben Foster definitely is. Foster was Hodgson’s goal keeper both at West Brom as well as for England. At just £4.1m Foster is the perfect second goalkeeper, both for managers wanting to use rotating keepers and a backup for a set and forget.
Foster has just returned from injury and has only started 12 games so far this season, however he now seems first choice. In those 12 games Foster has made 30 saves and registered 40 FPL points. Whilst managers may not often want to start Foster he is a perfect second goalkeeper. He is also great for managers playing their Bench Boost chip. He is likely one of the best picks from Watford for FPL managers.
Ownership
At one stage this season the Watford attacking duo, Dennis and King, where the go to for FPL managers. They were both on reasonable form and where the perfect budget enablers to allow managers to invest in multiple premiums. Dennis is still owned by 36.6% of the game. Foster is the second highest owned player at 18.8%, with King in third at 8.5%.
In fact Foster and Dennis’ combined ownership in the top 10k is 21.29%.
Although at 36.6% owned Dennis is a long way from being a differential, his effective ownership in the top 10k is just over 22%. This means that he will provide managers in the top 10k who own him with a good green arrow if he returns.
Sarr’s injury means that he is owned by just 2.9%. He is fantastic differential for managers prepared to risk Hodgson starting him in both matches so quickly on return from injury.
Community Chatter
Who to invest in for Double Gameweek 26 is a huge talking point amongst the FPL community. Watford are very much part of that conversation, however not all of it positive. The Birmingham Live are reporting that Watford fans are worried about their Gameweek 26 fixture against Villa.
There have been 28 goals in nine previous Premier League meetings between Villa and Watford. Investor’s in the Watford attack will be hoping to see that number increase this weekend.
The local Watford newspaper has been highlighting Hodgson’s comments on Sarr.
To read more about the other teams playing twice in Double Gameweek 26 check out the following articles:
