# 2017–18 Watford F.C. season

The 2017–18 season was the 120th season in the history of Watford and their third consecutive season in the Premier League. They also participated in the FA Cup and EFL Cup.
The season covered the period from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018.
Marco Silva replaced Walter Mazzarri despite resigning as the manager at Hull City who were relegated last season, but after just 26 games in charge, he was sacked and was immediately replaced by Javi Gracia.

## Squad
### First team squad

    As of 12 July 2018
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | BRA | Heurelho Gomes |
| 2 | DF | NED | Daryl Janmaat |
| 3 | DF | URU | Miguel Britos |
| 4 | DF | FRA | Younès Kaboul |
| 5 | DF | AUT | Sebastian Prödl |
| 6 | DF | JAM | Adrian Mariappa |
| 7 | FW | ESP | Gerard Deulofeu |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Tom Cleverley |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Troy Deeney (captain) |
| 11 | FW | BRA | Richarlison |
| 12 | MF | GAB | Didier Ndong (on loan from Sunderland) |
| 13 | DF | MLI | Molla Wagué (on loan from Udinese) |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Nathaniel Chalobah |
| 15 | DF | NIR | Craig Cathcart |
| 16 | MF | FRA | Abdoulaye Doucouré |
| 17 | FW | ENG | Jerome Sinclair |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 18 | FW | ENG | Andre Gray |
| 19 | MF | ENG | Will Hughes |
| 20 | MF | BEL | Dodi Lukebakio |
| 21 | DF | ESP | Kiko Femenía |
| 22 | DF | NED | Marvin Zeegelaar |
| 25 | DF | GRE | José Holebas |
| 27 | DF | BEL | Christian Kabasele |
| 28 | MF | PER | André Carrillo (on loan from Benfica) |
| 29 | MF | FRA | Étienne Capoue |
| 30 | GK | GRE | Orestis Karnezis (on loan from Udinese) |
| 31 | DF | IRL | Tommie Hoban |
| 33 | FW | ITA | Stefano Okaka |
| 35 | GK | AUT | Daniel Bachmann |
| 37 | MF | ARG | Roberto Pereyra |

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date | Position | Player | From | Fee |
| 1 July 2017 | GK | Daniel Bachmann | Stoke City | Free |
| 1 July 2017 | CM | Tom Cleverley | Everton | Undisclosed |
| 1 July 2017 | RB | Kiko Femenía | Alavés | Free |
| 1 July 2017 | CM | Will Hughes | Derby County | £8,000,000 |
| 8 July 2017 | ST | Harvey Bradbury | Portsmouth | Free |
| 8 July 2017 | GK | Sam Howes | West Ham United | Free |
| 14 July 2017 | CM | Nathaniel Chalobah | Chelsea | £5,000,000 |
| 8 August 2017 | FW | Richarlison | Fluminense | £11,160,000 |
| 9 August 2017 | ST | Andre Gray | Burnley | Undisclosed |
| 31 August 2017 | LB | Marvin Zeegelaar | Sporting CP | Undisclosed |

### Loans in

| Date | Position | Player | From | End date |
| 24 August 2017 | RW | André Carrillo | Benfica | 30 June 2018 |
| 31 August 2017 | GK | Orestis Karnezis | Udinese | 30 June 2018 |
| 31 August 2017 | CB | Molla Wagué | Udinese | 30 June 2018 |
| 29 January 2018 | FW | Gerard Deulofeu | Barcelona | 30 June 2018 |

### Transfers out

| Date | Position | Player | To | Fee |
| 1 July 2017 | CF | Ola Adeyemo | Valdres | Released |
| 1 July 2017 | GK | Charlie Bannister | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2017 | GK | Rene Gilmartin | Colchester United | Released |
| 1 July 2017 | CF | Ogo Obi | Hemel Hempstead Town | Released |
| 1 July 2017 | CM | Rhyle Ovenden | Free agent | Released |
| 1 July 2017 | CF | Mathias Ranégie | BK Häcken | Released |
| 11 July 2017 | DM | Mario Suárez | Guizhou Hengfeng Zhicheng | Undisclosed |
| 31 July 2017 | RW | Steven Berghuis | Feyenoord | Undisclosed |
| 4 August 2017 | RB | Juan Carlos Paredes | Emelec | Free |
| 15 August 2017 | GK | Giedrius Arlauskis | CFR Cluj | Mutual consent |
| 16 August 2017 | DM | Valon Behrami | Udinese | Undisclosed |
* ↑ Ola Adeyemo joined Valdres FK following his release.
* ↑ Rene Gilmartin joined Colchester United following his release.
* ↑ Mathias Ranégie joined BK Häcken following his release.
* ↑ Giedrius Arlauskis joined CFR Cluj following his departure.

### Loans out

| Date | Position | Player | To | End date |
| 6 July 2017 | DM | Dennon Lewis | Crawley Town | 31 December 2017 |
| 27 July 2017 | CF | Obbi Oularé | Antwerp | 30 June 2018 |
| 1 September 2017 | LW | Nordin Amrabat | Leganés | 30 June 2018 |
| 1 September 2017 | GK | Costel Pantilimon | Deportivo La Coruña | 30 June 2018 |
| 2 October 2017 | SS | Mauro Zárate | Al-Nasr | 30 June 2018 |

## Friendlies

Watford played the following pre-season friendlies.

## Competitions
### Premier League
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 12 | Bournemouth | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 45 | 61 | −16 | 44 |
| 13 | West Ham United | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 48 | 68 | −20 | 42 |
| 14 | Watford | 38 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 44 | 64 | −20 | 41 |
| 15 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 38 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 34 | 54 | −20 | 40 |
| 16 | Huddersfield Town | 38 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 28 | 58 | −30 | 37 |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Source: Premier League

#### Results by matchday

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
| Ground | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A |
| Result | D | W | D | W | L | W | D | W | L | L | L | W | W | L | D | L | L | L | L | W | L | L | D | L | D | W | L | W | W | L | L | D | L | L | D | L | W | L |
| Position | 10 | 3 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 14 |

#### Matches

On 14 June 2017, Watford's league season fixtures were announced.

### FA Cup

Watford entered the competition in the third round and were handed a home tie against Bristol City.

### EFL Cup

Watford entered the EFL Cup in the second round and were drawn at home to Bristol City.

## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

    Last updated on 8 May 2018.
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premier League | Premier League | EFL Cup | EFL Cup | FA Cup | FA Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | BRA | Heurelho Gomes | 26 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 30 | GK | GRE | Orestis Karnezis | 16 | 0 | 14+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 35 | GK | AUT | Daniel Bachmann | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | NED | Daryl Janmaat | 25 | 3 | 21+2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | URU | Miguel Britos | 12 | 1 | 10+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | FRA | Younès Kaboul | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | AUT | Sebastian Prödl | 21 | 0 | 17+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | JAM | Adrian Mariappa | 30 | 1 | 24+4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 13 | DF | MLI | Molla Wagué | 7 | 1 | 5+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | NIR | Craig Cathcart | 7 | 0 | 5+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | ESP | Kiko Femenía | 23 | 1 | 19+4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | NED | Marvin Zeegelaar | 13 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | GRE | José Holebas | 31 | 0 | 26+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | BEL | Christian Kabasele | 31 | 2 | 27+1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 31 | DF | IRL | Tommie Hoban | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 8 | MF | ENG | Tom Cleverley | 25 | 1 | 22+1 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Nathaniel Chalobah | 6 | 0 | 5+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | FRA | Abdoulaye Doucouré | 39 | 7 | 37 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | ENG | Will Hughes | 16 | 2 | 11+4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | BEL | Dodi Lukebakio | 1 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | FRA | Étienne Capoue | 26 | 3 | 18+5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 37 | MF | ARG | Roberto Pereyra | 34 | 5 | 18+14 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 7 | FW | ESP | Gerard Deulofeu | 7 | 1 | 5+2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Troy Deeney | 31 | 6 | 20+9 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 11 | FW | BRA | Richarlison | 41 | 5 | 32+6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | ENG | Jerome Sinclair | 5 | 0 | 0+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 18 | FW | ENG | Andre Gray | 33 | 5 | 16+15 | 5 | 0+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 28 | FW | PER | André Carrillo | 30 | 2 | 16+12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 33 | FW | ITA | Stefano Okaka | 16 | 1 | 3+12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| Players who have made an appearance or had a squad number this season but have left the club ||||||||||||
| 7 | MF | MAR | Nordin Amrabat | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | NGA | Isaac Success | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | ARG | Mauro Zárate | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | ENG | Ben Watson | 11 | 0 | 6+2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 30 | GK | ROU | Costel Pantilimon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Cards

    Accounts for all competitions. Last updated on 18 December 2017.
| No. | Pos. | Player | | |
| 2 | DF | Daryl Janmaat | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Miguel Britos | 3 | 1 |
| 5 | DF | Sebastian Prödl | 1 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | Adrian Mariappa | 2 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Tom Cleverley | 1 | 1 |
| 9 | FW | Troy Deeney | 1 | 1 |
| 11 | MF | Richarlison | 3 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | Nathaniel Chalobah | 1 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | Abdoulaye Doucouré | 5 | 0 |
| 18 | FW | Andre Gray | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | Kiko Femenía | 2 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | Marvin Zeegelaar | 2 | 1 |
| 25 | DF | José Holebas | 3 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | Christian Kabasele | 2 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | Étienne Capoue | 1 | 0 |
| 37 | MF | Roberto Pereyra | 1 | 0 |

### Clean sheets

    Last updated on 18 December 2017.
| No. | Pos. | Player | Matches played | Premier League | EFL Cup | FA Cup | Total |
| 1 | | Heurelho Gomes | 19 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 30 | | Orestis Karnezis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | | Daniel Bachmann | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | Totals | Totals | Totals | 5 | 0 | 0 | 5 |