Watford fans will get a first view of Ozan Tufan in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup third-round clash with Stoke.
The Turkey international midfielder joined the Hornets last month on a season-long loan from Fenerbahce but has not featured in any of their games in either the Premier League or EFL Cup so far.
However, manager Xisco Munoz revealed the 26-year-old will play on Tuesday, and said of his strengths: “Tufan is a player who feels more comfortable with the ball, also has very good passes.
“He has a very good shot from outside the box. I think tomorrow we can see him because he has good quality with the ball and I think he can give very good things for our team.”
Xisco is set to rotate his squad but he must decide which of his three goalkeepers to field after replacing Daniel Bachmann with Ben Foster for Saturday’s victory over Norwich.
“We are safe, we have Rob (Elliott), we have Danny and Ben and we will see tomorrow which keeper plays,” said the Hornets boss.
Watford ended a run of three straight losses in the league with a 3-1 success over Norwich, and Xisco sees Tuesday’s match as a key opportunity to build some momentum.
He said: “I think tomorrow is the moment to take another step forward. I trust everyone in our squad. It’s the moment for everyone to show what is the level we have in our squad, to take the confidence about this and give a very good performance.
“We have respect for the competition. If we can win it’s confidence because maybe we have to change for the game against Newcastle (on Saturday).”
Stoke have made a strong start to the Championship season and sit fifth in the table despite losing to troubled Derby at the weekend.
“They are a very good team,” said Xisco. “They play very good things in attack, they have a very good counter-attack, they come inside very well. I think tomorrow it’s important we have a good tactical game.”
Kiko Femenia will miss the match while Peter Etebo is ineligible against his parent club and Joao Pedro is unlikely to be risked as he continues to build up his fitness.
