Half of Watford's home wins have come against other teams in top eight
Watford have won at Vicarage Road against the teams currently sitting fourth, fifth and sixth in the Championship table.
The 2-1 win on Sunday handed West Brom only their second away defeat in the league this season.
It’s all a far cry from last season when the Hornets didn’t win a league game at Vicarage Road for months on end.
“We know we have a really solid base to work from, and we feel comfortable at home,” said Tom Cleverley.
“The connection we’ve built between ourselves and the supporters is fantastic.
“We’ve beaten some top teams here this season: Sunderland, Middlesbrough, Blackburn, West Brom.
“A lot of teams in and around us we’ve managed to play well against and beat here this season.
“If we can just improve our away form a bit I think we’re in a strong position.”
Cleverley’s record of going unbeaten in his first 16 home games in charge, and starting the season with 12 undefeated on home soil, are both the best Watford have registered since John Goodall’s 1903/04 team.
With Sunday being the 10th home league game without defeat, the current start to the season is now the joint third-best Watford have recorded – and moves them one nearer the club record 18 that Mike Keen and his team achieved at the start of the 1976/77 campaign.
With half of the eight home Championship wins coming against teams in the top eight, do better opponents tend to bring the best out of Watford?
“Yeah, that’s been the case, and our results would say that,” said Cleverley.
“Even against Leeds, although we lost 2-1 away I think we caused them more problems than most.
“Every game is worth three points though, and now we have to consistently churn out these top performances.
“We need this quality of performance against the teams that are in the bottom six and to be a little more consistent.”
