Analysis: Watford

Watford were looking to make it four consecutive Premier League victories, as head coach Javi Gracia named an unchanged starting line-up from the victory over Crystal Palace. The home side continued to play in their 4-2-2-2 structure, which converted into a 4-4-2 shape when defending.

Attacking midfielders Will Hughes and Roberto Pereyra began in a narrow position when defending, creating a pressing trap around the Tottenham wing-backs. Should their opponents have passed into either wing-back, the ballside midfielder would aggressively cut off access to central midfield. This forced the Spurs defenders into longer passes over the Watford back line, which the hosts mostly dealt with comfortably.

When Tottenham switched the play across their defence at speed, however, neither Hughes nor Pereyra could move across quick enough. They prioritised blocking off central access into the visitors’ central midfield, which naturally started to open up spaces for both wing-backs to drive forward. The ballside full-back now had to step up and deal with the advancing wing-backs.

Watford’s back line were often caught three against three, with Dele Alli’s late forward runs occupying the far-side full-back. Despite this being a clear problem for Watford, Spurs still focused on delivering long balls over the defence rather than driving forward with the ball and moving into better crossing positions. A lack of attacking quality combined with poor decision-making ensured goalkeeper Ben Foster had few saves to make in the opening 45 minutes.

Troy Deeney would often drift away from the ball and into the left inside channel when attacking, where he could link with Jose Holebas and Pereyra, who provided the width during counter-attacks. Hughes would then look to fill central positions in and around the penalty area, creating good central attacking numbers. Delayed deliveries, particularly from Daryl Janmaat on the right-hand side, afforded the aerially powerful Deeney the time to rejoin play in the box before attacking crosses against static defenders.

This pattern of play proved the most effective for Watford, as Deeney looked to attack balls around the much smaller and aerially weaker wing-backs. The hosts’ back line could fire balls into their captain from deep, completely bypassing the Tottenham midfield. The striker regularly attached himself on to Kieran Trippier, against whom he won the majority of his aerial duels, with Pereyra close by to pounce on the second ball. Hughes would continue to come across to support Watford’s play on the left, although this did leave them vulnerable to the counter-attack on the opposite flank if possession was lost.

Despite a promising first half, Watford went behind early in the second period. A routine long ball – which they had dealt with so comfortably in the first half – eventually fell to Lucas Moura, whose cross was diverted into the goal off the chest of Abdoulaye Doucoure.

The Hornets were struggling to deal with Tottenham’s central access, as Hughes and Pereyra were getting drawn to the visitors’ advancing centre-backs within the inside channels. This opened up access to their central midfielders via the wing-backs, as Doucoure and Etienne Capoue lost track of Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen’s roaming movements. Their best chance of a revival was for Deeney and Andre Gray to hold up long balls and clearances, and draw fouls deep in the Spurs half.

Watford did look dangerous on the transition when Deeney remained central to attack long balls forward, however. The 30-year-old started to focus his movement away from the left side and into the central lane, where he could occupy up to two of Tottenham’s three central defenders and thus create additional space in and around the penalty area for runners to attack. They nearly profited after Deeney bullied Davinson Sanchez before providing a powerful cross that Toby Alderweireld almost headed into his own net.

Minutes later, Watford were level. Deeney rose highest to power home a header from Holebas’ inswinging free-kick after Hughes had drawn a foul in a dangerous position. Having equalised, they now started to flood players forward during counter-attacks. Both full-backs, Janmaat and Holebas, had started to penetrate forward off the ball, forcing more Tottenham players to make recovering runs. In turn, this reduced the effectiveness of Spurs’ own counter-attacks.

The comeback was complete with another headed goal from a set-piece. This time it was central defender Craig Cathcart who rose highest, Tottenham again failing to defend a Holebas delivery. Watford held on for a fourth consecutive victory, and their first over Tottenham in the Premier League.