Ighalo battles Anichebe, Ideye
Venue: Vicarage Road
Kick off: 3pm
In from striker, Odion Ighalo, will on Saturday lead charge as Watford hosts their first match at Vicarage Road since returning to the Premier League when they take on West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
Quique Flores’s side began their campaign last weekend with a 2-2 draw against Everton, while the Baggies are yet to get off the mark after suffering a 3-0 defeat at the hands of two-time champion Manchester City.
Heading into the top flight was never going to be an easy task for the Hornets as managerial change and a huge influx of players altered the dynamic of the team who came second in the Championship under Slavisa Jokanovic.
Flores took charge in the summer and with him came 10 summer signings, including Etienne Capoue, Matej Vydra, Steven Berghuis, Valon Behrami, Jose Holebas, Miguel Britos, Jose Jurado and Allan Nyom.
More than £20 million was spent on securing their signatures, while Sebastian Prodl and Giedrius Arlauskis arrived at the club on free transfers.
Another addition is due be made in the form of former West Ham United forward Alessandro Diamanti, who will join Watford on a season-long loan from Guangzhou Evergrande, but the player is not expected to make his debut against West Brom this weekend.
Many predicted that Watford would struggle to get a stronghold of the Premier League, but they answered their critics on the opening day of the season with a decent display against Everton at Goodison Park.
Six new faces made their debuts for Watford, but they looked far from a team who had only just been thrown together as they were able to carve out a point on away turf.
Miguel Layun opened his account for the 2015-16 season in the first half of the encounter, while Ighalo, who scored 20 goals last season, looked to have won the game 2-1 for the visiting side until Arouna Kone slotted home four minutes from time to share the spoils.
The last time that Watford played top-flight football was back in the 2006-07 season, which was a poor campaign as they could only muster 29 goals and were sent into the division below having won just five games throughout the entire season.
It’s eight years down the line and the Premier League is arguably more competitive than ever, so while Watford may be one of the favourites to get relegated, they have shown through their performance against Everton that they can at least hold their own.
Tony Pulis made it clear last season that he does not want to be regarded as a manager whose only talent is steering desperate teams away from relegation.
The 2015-16 campaign gives the 57-year-old the perfect chance to show that he can bring stability to the Baggies and perhaps fight for a spot in the top half of the Premier League table following last season’s 13th-place finish.
There has been a summer of change for West Brom in terms of player personnel as James McClean, James Chester, Rickie Lambert and club-record signing Salomon Rondon, who cost the Baggies £12m, have arrived at The Hawthorns.
The latest arrival is an exciting addition for West Brom as the 25-year-old Venezuelan, who spent a season at Zenit St Petersburg before joining the Baggies, was once a rumoured target of Liverpool.
On the day of Rondon’s arrival, the club were brought back down to earth when former English champions Man City eased to a 3-0 triumph at West Brom’s home, and Pulis was honest after the game on Monday by admitting that he got tactics wrong.
The former Stoke City boss said that his side were “far too loose” after starting Lambert and Saido Berahino, who has been linked with a move away from the club, up front, but with more departures expected to go through The Hawthorns’ exit gates, Pulis will need to figure out his best team.
Last season, the Baggies scored 38 goals in the Premier League, but had 51 shipped past them as they claimed 13th spot with 44 points overall, so for progress to be made, the team will need to improve on last season’s total of 11 victories.
Watford possible starting lineup: Gomes; Nyom, Cathcart, Prodl, Holebas; Capoue, Behrami, Anya, Jurado, Layun; Deeney.
West Bromwich Albion possible starting lineup: Myhill; Chester, Dawson, Lescott, Brunt; Morrison, Gardner, Fletcher, McManaman, McClean; Rondon.