Premier League: Can Watford’s Fresh Faces Keep Them From Relegation

The results speak for themselves.

Watford has gone unbeaten in their last five matches in the league. They took down Manchester United, Aston Villa, Wolves, and Bournemouth. This run has put the Hornets in the safety zone. They sit in 17th place, one point from the drop.

Their expected goals (xG) in their last five matches, per fbref.com, were 1.5, 0.6, 2.6, 0.9, and 1.9 compared to the last five matches under Flores of 0.7, 1.0, 0.7, 1.3, and 0.7. Ismaila Sarr also has gained form since Nigel Pearson took over, notching two goals in Premier League play.

He and 25-year-old winger, Gerard Deulofeu, are near the top of their club in creating and converting chances with non-penalty expected goals, plus expected assists per 90 minutes (npxG+xA) of 0.41 and 0.40 respectively, according to fbref.com. For Sarr, his npxG+xA of 0.40 is consistent with his short-lived career average.

Watford has been busy in this January’s transfer window by adding 18-year-old Brazilian center forward, Joao Pedro for $4.56 million and 24-year-old right-winger, Ignacio Pussetto for $9.12 million from Serie A club, Udinese. Pedro showed flashes of dynamic skill playing in the Brazilian first division but had trailed off form prior to his transfer.

Pussetto, from Argentina, has spent a large amount of his time this season in Italy on the bench with one goal in twelve matches but was brought in much like Pedro, to bring more pace to the Watford attack.