Joao Pedro starts: The predicted Watford XI to face Hull on Sunday | OneFootball

The World Cup break, it could be argued, came at a decent time for Watford.

Although the Hornets were going well under new boss Slaven Bilic, with the head coach having came in mid-season, a few weeks on the training ground with the squad in a sort of mini pre-season will surely have done no harm.

Indeed, it will be exciting to see what effects, if any, it has on the club’s performance this weekend as they prepare to host Hull City in the Championship.

With the Hornets looking to close the gap on the three teams above them in the division – Blackburn, Sheffield United and Burnley – Slaven Bilic’s team selection for Sunday’s clash could be key.

With that said, below, we’ve predicted the XI we think the Watford boss could potentially select.

With no team news ahead of the clash just yet, we are left to speculate on the players that could feature.

In our line up, Daniel Bachmann keeps his place in-between the sticks, with a back four in front of him consisting of Hassane Kamara, Craig Cathcart, William Troost-Ekong and Mario Gaspar. Gaspar gets the nod at right-back due to the recent injury to Dan Gosling, and the lack of information surrounding Jeremy Ngakia’s fitness.

In midfield, with limited options at his disposal, Bilic could once again opt for a familiar duo of Hamza Choudhury and Edo Kayembe.

Quiz: What shirt number are these 25 current Watford players?

1 of 25

What is Joao Pedro's shirt number?

10 9 8 12

Ahead of those two, though, things could get mixed with more options to choose from.

In our predicted line up, Ken Sema plays on the left, with Samuel Kalu on the right, and Joao Pedro operating in the number 10 role.

We’re assuming Ismaila Sarr won’t start this one after his World Cup exploits with Senegal.

Up front and leading the line, then, is Keinan Davis, looking to add to his four Championship goals in the campaign so far.