When Woking faced Watford in the FA Cup, it was definitely a David and Goliath battle considering the difference between the teams. Despite the huge gap between them, Woking’s performance was quite good and only two mistakes decided the game. However, Watford showed really interesting patterns in attacking phases, as this tactical analysis will show using statistics.
Dominance from the beginning
There were some changes in Watford’s strategy with Javi Gracia giving some rest to key players such as Troy Deeney, Roberto Pereyra, former Barcelona product Gerard Deulofeu and Etienne Capoue. This successfully provided an opportunity to youngsters like Isaac Success to gain some experience.
More importantly, there were some tweaks to the formation too. Watford opted for a three-man midfield while pushing the wingers forward. Thus instead of the customary 4-4-2, they employed a 4-3-3. The natural intention was to play in a more possession-based style in anticipation of Woking playing defensively. Watfords subsequent dominance came as little surprise. In the 16th minute, for example, they had 67% possession.
In this set-up, both wingers stayed narrow which gave space for the full-backs to act next to the sideline. Will Hughes and Adalberto Penaranda were also tasked with frequent dropping movements. This applied especially to Hughes, who appeared in deeper areas more often as the pass map shows.
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