Will Nigerian players at Watford respond against Tottenham Hotspur?

After the high of their opening day success against Aston Villa, Watford were beaten 2-0 by Brighton & Hove Albion last week Saturday, bringing them back down to earth.

Of course, this wasn’t unexpected, especially given that the Hornets, in the last year or so, have fared better at Vicarage Road than they have on the road. The Hertfordshire outfit had the most impressive home record of all the teams across England’s major four divisions in 2020/21, so a deserved 3-2 win over Villa wasn’t a surprise. 

That game was dominated by Emmanuel Dennis, the striker granted a start at Troy Deeney’s expense. 

The summer arrival from Club Brugge came in on the back of a torrid few months in Belgium and loan at Köln in the second half of last season but flourished on the opening day to score his first goal since February.

Oghenekaro Etebo was surprisingly deployed at the base of Xisco Munoz’s midfield — a position and role he played in during the off-season as well — and gave a decent-to-good showing.

“Etebo played very well,” Muñoz asserted after the Villa win. “He was the balance, he was always in a very good position, always gave a very good chance for recovery and helped the other players. He was very good because he understood perfectly what we need to give more in front.

“His game was very clever. He didn’t have a lot of time with the ball, but he was excellent, it was what we wanted from him. He gave the team 100 per cent with full power in attack and defence.”

However, against Brighton, the Super Eagle’s flaws in that strange role were somewhat exposed. The Stoke City loanee was seldom involved in his team’s build-up play and lost the midfield battle to Yves Bissouma who shone at the Amex.

The second goal for the hosts in that 2-0 loss saw William Troost-Ekong’s pass into Tom Cleverley intercepted and while the centre-back recovered from that slight error to have an acceptable showing, it was the error of judgement from the ex-Udinese defender in the big time.

Admittedly, Troost-Ekong wasn’t helped by an absence of available options to pass to, with Etebo notably unwilling to receive the ball under pressure and a long ball likely to gift the Seagulls possession.

The Nigerians endured a tough afternoon against Graham Potter’s well-organised side and Munoz has called for a reaction this weekend at Tottenham Hotspur.

“The Premier League does not give second chances,” said the Watford boss.

“This is the level. Today it was like this. We need to keep going and always try to give all the support to our players because we have an amazing challenge, and we need to keep going with the same attitude and prepare for the next game.

“The most important thing is the reaction.”

Nuno Espirito Santo’s men are so far unblemished in the Premier League after two rounds of games, following 1-0 wins over Manchester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers last time out. With no goals conceded in 180 minutes, it’ll be up to Dennis to have a better showing in the attacking third to finally breach Spurs’ rearguard at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

As for Etebo and Troost-Ekong, the counter-attacking threat of Tottenham means they could be exposed in the middle in transition and concede chances if their oh-so evident structural issues against Brighton persist in North London.

Xisco has issued a rallying cry for the Hornets to carry their impressive home form into away games, and Sunday will be the perfect opportunity to see if his players heed those words.

Indeed, the Nigerians will play a huge role in whatever result materialises as they look to react to last week’s thoroughly disappointing performance.

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Seye Omidiora is a passionate football writer and pundit whose deep appreciation for the beautiful game exceeds the usual. He is currently a columnist for Goal Africa and has previously written for Vital Football UK, IBCity Info and Opera News.

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