With games coming thick and fast now the Premier League has resumed, Craig Shakespeare has emphasised the importance of squad rotation and making the most of the nine available substitutes in each match.

The Hornets head to Burnley on Thursday evening, just five days after their last outing and three before hosting Southampton at Vicarage Road.

“I think there will be rotation of squads, we saw Man City make eight changes and we haven’t all got that luxury, but I think there will be [changes],” said the Assistant Head Coach.

“The closer the games come, whether it’s a Thursday-Sunday, I think you’ll see more changes. But in an ideal world you have to be ready for these.

“Because of how condensed the nine games are, I’ll be amazed if people play the same team week in, week out. I think we’ll see most teams rotated if not for the second game then for the third. I think it depends on results, momentum and also about your squad in depth.

“You saw that we made five substitutions on Saturday and that’s what this allows you to do, it allows you to freshen things up, to cover injuries but also to cover if you’re behind and want to make three changes as we did in one go.”