Watford striker Joao Pedro returns to contention ahead of Wolves clash

Watford v Preston North End – Sky Bet Championship – Vicarage Road
(Image credit: Tess Derry)

Watford attacker Joao Pedro could make his first appearance of the season at home to Wolves after he returned to training following a knee injury.

The Brazilian scored nine times in the Sky Bet Championship during the 2020-21 campaign and will be one of many expected to fill the void left by Troy Deeney, who signed for Birmingham at the end of August after spending 11 years at Vicarage Road.

Midfielder Ozan Tufan could make his debut on Saturday, but Ben Foster (hamstring) is injured and Francisco Sierralta’s availability remains unknown while Watford continue their dialogue with FIFA after Chile asked for the defender to be banned having missed international duty over the last week.

Wolves will have Raul Jimenez available for the match after coming to an agreement with the Mexican football federation, after the forward was not allowed to participate on international duty.

Hwang Hee-Chan could be in line for a debut, although is likely to come off the bench, with manager Bruno Lage having just 18 players, and two goalkeepers, at his disposal.

Jonny and Pedro Neto however are out and expected to be sidelined for two or three months.

Watford provisional squad: Bachmann, Elliot, Femenia, Ngakia, Troost-Ekong, Cathcart, Kabasele, Sierralta, Masina, Rose, Etebo, Louza, Cleverley, Kucka, Tufan, Sissoko, Sema, Sarr, King, Fletcher, Dennis, Hernandez, Pedro.

Wolves provisional squad: Sa, Kilman, Coady, Saiss, Semedo, Nevez, Moutinho, Marcal, Trincao, Jimenez, Traore, Hoeve, Ait-Nouri, Podence, Boly, Fabio Silva, Hwang, Ruddy, Dendoncker, Cundle