# 2019–20 Watford F.C. season

The 2019–20 season was Watford's 121st year in their history and fifth consecutive season in the Premier League. They also participated in the FA Cup and the EFL Cup. The season covered the period from 1 July 2019 to 26 July 2020.
Javi Gracia was sacked on 7 September 2019, after a poor start to the season saw Watford bottom with just one point. He was replaced by former manager, Quique Sánchez Flores However, on 1 December 2019, Flores was sacked after securing only a single victory in his second stint in charge. Nigel Pearson was appointed manager on 6 December 2019 on a season-long contract. On 19 July 2020, Pearson was sacked with two games remaining in the 2019–20 season. Watford were seven points adrift at the bottom of the league when Pearson took charge, and three points above the relegation zone when he was sacked. Following Pearson's sacking, under interim manager Hayden Mullins, Watford went on to lose their remaining two games and were relegated.

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee | Team |
| 1 July 2019 | AM | Kane Crichlow | AFC Wimbledon | Free transfer | Under-23s |
| 1 July 2019 | CB | Craig Dawson | West Bromwich Albion | Undisclosed | First team |
| 1 July 2019 | CB | Bayli Spencer-Adams | Arsenal | Free transfer | Under-23s |
| 12 July 2019 | CB | Jamal Balogun | Reading | Free transfer | Under-23s |
| 12 July 2019 | CF | Sam Dalby | Leeds United | Undisclosed | Under-23s |
| 12 July 2019 | LB | Cameron Green | Reading | Free transfer | Under-23s |
| 12 July 2019 | CM | Henry Wise | Free Agent | Free transfer | Under-23s |
| 24 July 2019 | CM | Tom Dele-Bashiru | Manchester City | Free transfer | Under-23s |
| 2 August 2019 | CB | Mason Barrett | West Ham United | Free transfer | Under-23s |
| 2 August 2019 | DM | Callum Whelan | Manchester United | Free transfer | Under-23s |
| 7 August 2019 | CF | Danny Welbeck | Arsenal | Free transfer | First team |
| 8 August 2019 | RW | Ismaïla Sarr | Rennes | €30,000,000 | First team |
| 22 August 2019 | SS | Kaylen Hinds | Free agent | Free transfer | Under-23s |
| 1 January 2020 | CF | João Pedro | Fluminense | Undisclosed | First team |
| 14 January 2020 | RW | Ignacio Pussetto | Udinese | €8,000,000 | First team |
| 30 January 2020 | GK | Myles Roberts | Reading | Undisclosed | Under-23s |
| 31 January 2020 | CB | Teddy Perkins | Burnley | Undisclosed | Under-23s |

### Loans out

| Date from | Position | Name | To | Date until | Team |
| 1 July 2019 | CF | Jerome Sinclair | VVV-Venlo | 30 June 2020 | First team |
| 1 July 2019 | CF | Luis Suárez | Zaragoza | 30 June 2020 | Under-23s |
| 3 July 2019 | LB | Pervis Estupiñán | Osasuna | 30 June 2021 | Under-23s |
| 9 July 2019 | FW | Michael Folivi | AFC Wimbledon | 30 June 2020 | Under-23s |
| 14 July 2019 | RB | Kingsley Fobi | Badajoz | 30 June 2020 | Under-23s |
| 22 July 2019 | CF | Matheus Aias | Mirandés | 30 June 2020 | Under-23s |
| 24 July 2019 | RB | Marc Navarro | Leganés | 30 June 2020 | First team |
| 25 July 2019 | CB | Ben Wilmot | Swansea City | 30 June 2020 | First team |
| 26 July 2019 | CF | Alex Jakubiak | Gillingham | 31 January 2020 | Under-23s |
| 31 July 2019 | AM | Juergen Elitim | Marbella | 30 June 2020 | Under-23s |
| 1 August 2019 | CM | Kwasi Sibo | Ibiza | 30 June 2020 | Under-23s |
| 22 August 2019 | CB | Harry Hudson | Cray Wanderers | 30 October 2019 | Academy |
| 22 August 2019 | CM | Daniel Phillips | Hemel Hempstead Town | January 2020 | Academy |
| 22 August 2019 | LM | Ken Sema | Udinese | 30 June 2020 | First team |
| 26 August 2019 | CF | Cucho Hernández | Mallorca | 30 June 2020 | First team |
| 2 September 2019 | CF | Adalberto Peñaranda | Eupen | 30 June 2020 | First team |
| 6 September 2019 | LB | Cameron Green | Braintree Town | 1 January 2020 | Under-23s |
| 6 September 2019 | GK | James Hoskins | Northwood | 2 October 2019 | Academy |
| 15 November 2019 | GK | Dante Baptiste | Hendon | Youth loan | Academy |
| 1 January 2020 | RB | Dimitri Foulquier | Granada | 30 June 2020 | First team |
| 31 January 2020 | GK | Pontus Dahlberg | FC Emmen | 30 June 2020 | First team |
| 31 January 2020 | MF | Harry Forster | St Albans City | 30 June 2020 | Academy |
| 31 January 2020 | LB | Lewis Gordon | St Albans City | 30 June 2020 | Academy |
| 31 January 2020 | CF | Alex Jakubiak | St Mirren | 30 June 2020 | Under-23s |
| 13 March 2020 | GK | Harvey White | Hendon | 30 June 2020 | Under-23s |

### Transfers out

| Date | Position | Name | To | Fee | Team |
| 1 July 2019 | CB | Miguel Britos | Free Agent | Released | First team |
| 1 July 2019 | CM | Ashley Charles | Free Agent | Released | Under-23s |
| 1 July 2019 | CM | Andrew Eleftheriou | Dagenham & Redbridge | Released | Under-23s |
| 1 July 2019 | CB | Tommie Hoban | Free Agent | Released | First team |
| 1 July 2019 | GK | Sam Howes | Woking | Released | Under-23s |
| 1 July 2019 | CB | Tom Leighton | Free Agent | Released | Academy |
| 1 July 2019 | DM | Sulayman Marreh | Eupen | Undisclosed | Under-23s |
| 1 July 2019 | RB | Michael Mullings | Free Agent | Released | Academy |
| 1 July 2019 | CF | Obbi Oularé | Standard Liège | Undisclosed | First team |
| 1 July 2019 | LM | Kai Sanders | Free Agent | Released | Academy |
| 1 July 2019 | AM | Sam Sesay | Free Agent | Released | Academy |
| 1 July 2019 | DF | Ryan Suckling | Free Agent | Released | Academy |
| 1 July 2019 | CB | Ben Tricker | Fulham | Released | Academy |
| 1 August 2019 | RW | Dodi Lukebakio | Hertha BSC | Undisclosed | First team |
| 2 September 2019 | CF | Stefano Okaka | Udinese | Undisclosed | First team |
| 19 December 2019 | CB | Joy Mukena | Bracknell Town | Free transfer | Under-23s |
| 24 January 2020 | LB | Marvin Zeegelaar | Udinese | Undisclosed | First team |
| 31 January 2020 | CB | Sebastian Prödl | Free agent | Mutual consent | First team |

## Pre-season and friendlies

In June 2019. The Hornets confirmed their pre-season schedule.
Win  Draw  Loss  Upcoming  Void  Postponed

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

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 16 | West Ham United | 38 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 49 | 62 | −13 | 39 | |
| 17 | Aston Villa | 38 | 9 | 8 | 21 | 41 | 67 | −26 | 35 | |
| 18 | Bournemouth (R) | 38 | 9 | 7 | 22 | 40 | 65 | −25 | 34 | Relegation to EFL Championship |
| 19 | Watford (R) | 38 | 8 | 10 | 20 | 36 | 64 | −28 | 34 | Relegation to EFL Championship |
| 20 | Norwich City (R) | 38 | 5 | 6 | 27 | 26 | 75 | −49 | 21 | Relegation to EFL Championship |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 26 July 2020. Source: BBC

#### 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 | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A |
| Result | L | L | L | D | D | L | L | D | D | D | L | W | L | L | L | D | L | W | D | W | W | W | D | L | L | D | L | W | L | D | L | L | L | W | W | L | L | L |
| Position | 18 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 19 |

#### Matches

On 13 June 2019, the Premier League fixtures were announced.

### FA Cup

The third round draw was made live on BBC Two from Etihad Stadium, Micah Richards and Tony Adams conducted the draw.

### EFL Cup

The second round draw was made on 13 August 2019 following the conclusion of all but one first-round matches. The third round draw was confirmed on 28 August 2019, live on Sky Sports. The draw for the fourth round was made on 25 September 2019.

## Appearances and goals

| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premier League | Premier League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | BRA | Heurelho Gomes | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 26 | GK | ENG | Ben Foster | 38 | 0 | 38 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 35 | GK | AUT | Daniel Bachmann | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | NED | Daryl Janmaat | 10 | 1 | 7+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 4 | DF | ENG | Craig Dawson | 29 | 2 | 26+3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | DF | JAM | Adrian Mariappa | 23 | 0 | 15+5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 | DF | ITA | Adam Masina | 28 | 1 | 20+6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | NIR | Craig Cathcart | 30 | 0 | 28+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | ESP | Kiko Femenía | 29 | 0 | 26+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | GRE | José Holebas | 15 | 0 | 11+3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | DF | BEL | Christian Kabasele | 31 | 0 | 26+1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 |
| 41 | DF | ENG | Mason Barrett | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 51 | DF | ENG | Bayli Spencer-Adams | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 8 | MF | ENG | Tom Cleverley | 19 | 1 | 11+7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | ENG | Nathaniel Chalobah | 26 | 1 | 10+12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 16 | MF | FRA | Abdoulaye Doucouré | 39 | 4 | 36+1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 19 | MF | ENG | Will Hughes | 31 | 1 | 27+3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | POR | Domingos Quina | 9 | 0 | 0+4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | NGA | Tom Dele-Bashiru | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | FRA | Étienne Capoue | 30 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | MF | ARG | Roberto Pereyra | 32 | 5 | 17+11 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
| 42 | MF | ENG | Callum Whelan | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | MF | ENG | Joseph Hungbo | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 46 | MF | ENG | Henry Wise | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 58 | MF | ENG | Jayden Bennetts | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 7 | FW | ESP | Gerard Deulofeu | 30 | 4 | 25+3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Troy Deeney | 27 | 10 | 26+1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | ENG | Danny Welbeck | 20 | 3 | 8+10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 17 | FW | BRA | João Pedro | 5 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | FW | ENG | Andre Gray | 27 | 2 | 7+16 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 22 | FW | NGA | Isaac Success | 7 | 0 | 0+5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | SEN | Ismaïla Sarr | 30 | 6 | 22+6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 1 |
| 33 | FW | ARG | Ignacio Pussetto | 7 | 0 | 0+7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 40 | FW | ENG | Sam Dalby | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 53 | FW | ENG | Kaylen Hinds | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players transferred out during the season ||||||||||||
| 5 | DF | AUT | Sebastian Prödl | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | VEN | Adalberto Peñaranda | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 1 |
| 36 | DF | FRA | Dimitri Foulquier | 5 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
Last updated: 26 July 2020 Source: Competitions