Watford v West Ham Preview: Predicted Line-ups | Nuno’s Formation Gamble

By Kris Gonzo | Senior West Ham Columnist (Follow on X)

Watford v West Ham United
EFL Championship
Vicarage Road
Saturday, 3pm

Two Huge Decisions For Nuno

West Ham manager Nuno Espírito Santo has two major decisions to make ahead of the trip to Vicarage Road.

The first concerns his formation.

West Ham have not looked good playing Nuno’s preferred 4-4-2 in the Championship. The Hammers drew 2-2 against Burnley before losing 2-1 at home to Charlton Athletic.

The warning signs were there at Turf Moor when Nuno surrendered the initiative after West Ham had taken control. Things became considerably worse against Charlton, when the Hammers were beaten 2-1 at the London Stadium.

Nuno switched to three in midfield against Southampton in the Carabao Cup and West Ham won 4-1.

Admittedly, Southampton fielded a weakened team, but the contrast was still impossible to ignore. West Ham played with greater energy, controlled the midfield and looked far more dangerous going forward.

The obvious question is whether Nuno learned anything from it or whether he will immediately switch back to 4-4-2.

Youngsters Give Nuno A Selection Headache

The second major decision is what to do with the youngsters who performed so well at St Mary’s.

Several of them showed the senior players exactly how it should be done. Their pace, hunger and attitude were a stark contrast to much of what we had seen during the opening two league games.

The numbers certainly backed up the eye test. Lewis Orford ran the show against Southampton, completing 59 of 64 passes, producing four key passes and registering two assists.

Orford and Divine Mukasa certainly do not deserve to be dropped. In my opinion, Nuno’s only real midfield decision should be whether to supplement them with Arne Engels or Mohamadou Kanté.

Unfortunately, I’m not convinced he will see it that way.

Manor Solomon and captain Jarrod Bowen are both expected to return, but Airidas Golambeckis has given the manager serious food for thought following his performance in central defence.

Konstantinos Mavropanos has been struggling for form and has carried a knock this week, although he is expected to be available. As well as Golambeckis played at Southampton, I cannot imagine Nuno dropping a senior centre-back for him at Vicarage Road.

Ezra Mayers was also solid at left-back, further complicating the manager’s selection.

Personally, I would drop Ollie Scarles, play Joël Veltman at right-back and move Kyle Walker-Peters across to the left.

Veltman’s Southampton performance was so impressive that I’ve already made the case for him being almost undroppable against Watford.

Nuno Remains Under Massive Pressure

Tuesday’s victory provided some welcome respite, but Nuno remains under massive pressure.

He cannot afford to lose against Watford. Defeat would leave West Ham with only one point from three Championship matches, at which point the Hammers would look far more like relegation candidates than promotion favourites.

C&H were informed earlier this week that a Watford defeat would place Nuno under significant pressure, with concerns already surrounding the team’s motivation.

Watford drew 1-1 away to Wrexham last weekend and will provide a very different test to the young Southampton side West Ham dismantled on Tuesday.

The Hornets lack squad depth and were comprehensively beaten by Peterborough United in the Carabao Cup, but their senior players will return for this game. They are well organised, dangerous on the counterattack and will fancy their chances against a West Ham team still learning how to cope with the Championship.

Vicarage Road can be a lively ground, and Watford will know the pressure is firmly on their visitors.

West Ham can at least take encouragement from the recent head-to-head record. The Hammers have won each of their past five meetings with the Hornets, including three consecutive victories at Vicarage Road.

Gonzo’s Predicted West Ham Team

This is an incredibly difficult team to predict because we still don’t know whether Nuno will reward Tuesday’s performers or immediately return to his senior players.

My feeling is that he will not be able to help himself. Even to his own detriment, I expect Nuno to revert to the 4-4-2 formation which has not served him well at all.

Much depends on Pablo Felipe’s fitness. If he is available, I expect him to return alongside Taty Castellanos.

Position	Player
GK	Mads Hermansen
RB	Joël Veltman
CB	Max Kilman
CB	Konstantinos Mavropanos
LB	Ezra Mayers
RM	Jarrod Bowen
CM	Arne Engels
CM	Lewis Orford
LM	Manor Solomon
ST	Pablo Felipe
ST	Taty Castellanos

Gonzo’s Prediction

This match may come down to Nuno’s choice of formation.

If he returns to 4-4-2, I suspect West Ham will draw. If he packs the midfield and uses tactics similar to those deployed against Southampton, the Hammers could win 2-1.

Unfortunately, I think Nuno will revert to type.

Prediction: Draw