Hornets head coach Quique Sanchez Flores says he will make changes to his Watford side for tonight’s Capital One Cup second round tie at Preston North End.

That admission will not come as a surprise to Golden Boys supporters as the game at Deepdale kicks off just over 48 hours after Watford were held to a goalless draw with Southampton in Premier League.

Flores has constantly stated in the past week that the Hornets have 30 players who are competing for a place in the Golden Boys side.

And the Spaniard is ready to give those on the fringes of the first-team the opportunity to impress against Preston.

“We only two days to recover but we have a big squad and a lot of the players are training. Of course the team will be very different,” Watford’s head coach said after Sunday’s draw with the Saints.

“They (players who are on the fringes) need to play. It is very difficult to put them into a Premier League match because it is at a very high level.

“(Miguel) Britos hasn’t played an official match for two months and (Steven) Berghuis has only played a few matches. So this match is one we will use to test the players in an official competition.”

Flores added: “For us any official game is important. It is an opportunity to check the players and judge the team.

“We can improve in different areas and correct things. It is perfect for us to have to play in two days.”

Watford have failed to score in their last two outings and have struggled to create a clear-cut chance in those games.

Flores’ 4-2-3-1 formation has come under scrutiny from a section of supporters but he says he won’t be changing the system at Deepdale.

“The system is ok but we have new players, half of the squad is new,” Flores explained. “It is important to keep on working. The base is good. We are in the Premier League and the level of the Championship is completely different. The players are playing well and the team is balanced.”

Who will lead the Hornets’ attack against the Lilywhites is difficult to call. Troy Deeney and Odion Ighalo both played 90 minutes against Southampton while Matej Vydra appears to have fallen out of favour with Flores.

The Spaniard was asked if Deeney could feature a Deepdale to help boost the striker’s chances of getting off the mark this term.

“For us it is important to train but it is also important for the players to rest and recover. We need to think about the other matches,” Flores said.

“Deeney has confidence. He is not scoring but he feels good during the match. We are not in a hurry. “We don’t need to put pressure on Deeney to score goals. The goals are coming. I don’t have any nerves about this.”

The clash at Deepdale will be Flores’ first experience of an English cup tie but the former Atletico Madrid and Valencia boss is fully aware of the giant killings that can often take place.

He said: “It will be tough. When I have followed cup competitions in England I saw these matches can be very difficult for the bigger team to go to different stadiums and try to win. So it will be difficult for us.”

 

On the way to Preston @the airport (with Gabriele Angella). ;)#AA22 #WFC #LeagueCup

Posted by Almen Abdi on Tuesday, 25 August 2015

 

Vamo que nos vamos!! #WatfordFC #CapitalOne #Paredes #Forestieri ✌🏻😁

Posted by Miguel Layún on Tuesday, 25 August 2015