Hornets head to Wales next week with a recent 50% success rate

Watford make the first of two scheduled trips across the border next week with a 50% win rate in Wales from their last dozen visits.

The Hornets have won six of the most recent 12 games, and have only failed to score once in their last nine.

Success has come more easily at Cardiff, where the Hornets visit in December, but the last four trips to Tuesday’s hosts Swansea have still seen two victories.

In the midst of the last 11 league trips across the Severn Bridge (or possibly via the M5 and A48 if you’re heading from a more northerly starting point) there is also the ignominious 3-1 defeat at Newport County in the Carling Cup.

Last season, Watford were undefeated in Wales: having drawn 1-1 at Cardiff on October 7 with Vakoun Bayo’s goal earning a point, the Hornets then went to Swansea on October 24 and ended their 16-game winless run of away games that had stretched back to January.

It was a memorable long-range strike from Ken Sema in the 82nd minute which won the game at the Swansea.com Stadium that night.

Only 11 of the 20-man squad involved in the game a little over a year ago are currently still at Vicarage Road.

The season before, on November 22, 2022, headers from Francisco Sierralta and Ismaila Sarr saw Watford come from behind to win 2-1 at Cardiff.

But then, a few weeks later on December 30 and in front of the Sky Sports cameras, the Hornets were trounced 4-0 by Swansea and gave one of their most insipid performances of a very disappointing season.

A little more than two months after that game, Slaven Bilic was sacked and Chris Wilder took over as head coach for the final 11 games of the season.

One of the most memorable recent visits to Swansea came on September 23, 2017, when Andre Gray put Watford in front after 13 minutes but Tammy Abrahams levelled things up 11 minutes into the second half.

In the final minute of normal time, Richarlison broke free and scored a dramatic late winner for a 2-1 success.

Watford’s overall record in league and cup games in Wales since the start of this century is P25 W10 D5 L10 F37 A39.