The Watford dilemmas facing Slaven Bilic ahead of Stoke City clash | OneFootball

Slaven Bilic will take charge of his first Watford game when they take on Stoke on Sunday as he looks to get his reign off to a positive start.

Watford haven’t been at their best so far this season, picking up 14 points from their opening ten games.

That didn’t make it any less surprising that the hierarchy at Vicarage Road took the decision to sack Rob Edwards despite informing supporters at the time of his appointment that he will be given time.

Nonetheless, that wasn’t the case and he’s now been replaced by Bilic who has pedigree at Championship level having won promotion with West Brom in the 2019/20 season and will be looking to do the same here.

Before he does that though, he has to find the right balance with this side with the players at his disposal.

So, with that in mind, here are the dilemmas facing Bilic ahead of the game with Stoke City.

Louza or Kayembe

Bilic may be looking to play a possession style of play, similar to his West Brom side that won promotion in the 2019/20 Championship season.

If he will be looking to play that style, he may well run into the same issues that Rob Edwards had in terms of progressing the ball through the Hornets midfield.

The squad currently lacks natural ball players and is better suited to playing a high-pressing style with Ed Kayembe and Hamza Choudhury but with Imran Louza returning from injury, that could help solve a number of issues.

Louza has been injured since the start of preseason however and it could be a risk to throw him in at the deep end straight away against a Stoke side who will be difficult to break down.

Bilic is likely to play with four at the back, meaning dropping one of the centre halves from the starting XI. If Bilic is to want to deploy a possession based play like his old West Brom team, having players comfortable in possession is essential.

With that in mind, one of the big dilemmas for Bilic is whether Francisco Sierralta comes in for Craig Cathcart.

Cathcart was one of the better players in the game against Sunderland and his experience could be vital. With Kortney Hause likely to play on the left side of a back four to retain balance, Sierralta offers more composure with the ball at his feet as he displayed under Xisco Munoz leaving Bilic with a tough choice.

Keep his defence solid in his first few games, or start playing his preferred style and subsequent personnel straight away.