Watford may have a vested interest in Leicester City being promoted: View | OneFootball

Unfortunately for Watford, they will play no part in either the Championship promotion or play-off race this season.

It has been a remarkably average campaign for the Hornets, with the club currently dwelling in mid-table and with very little to play for as the season comes to an end.

Indeed, the club will already be looking ahead to next season and appointing a permanent head coach in the summer, with Tom Cleverley currently in charge on an interim basis.

Yet, despite the above, Watford may well have a vested interest in who gets promoted this season.

If Leicester City were to go up, for example, it would mean the Hornets see the back of Jamie Vardy, who has proved a thorn in Watford's side time and time again over the years.

How much Vardy has enjoyed playing against the Hornets over the years is evidenced by the fact that he sits joint-top of the club's 'most feared' players on Transfermarkt.

The 'feared by club' section on Transfermarkt gives an overview of which players have scored the most goals against each respected club, and in Watford's case, the top five features some big names.

Sitting at the top of that list, though, level with Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling, is Vardy.

Vardy has a phenomenal record against the Hornets, with 11 goals and two assists in just 15 matches against the club.

Furthermore, his results record, no doubt partly as a result of his goals, is also strong against Watford, winning 10 of the 15 matches he has played against the club, and losing just three.

Jamie Vardy's goals against Watford

Although he faced Watford as a Championship player in 2013/14, it was when both the Foxes and the Hornets were in the Premier League together that Vardy had his fun.

In 2015/16, for example, the season that Leicester won the Premier League title, Vardy netted what proved to be the winning goal in a 2-1 victory for his side.

Between 2017/18 and 2019/20, Vardy also managed to score in four consecutive matches against the Hornets in the top flight, helping Leicester win three of those four matches by a scoreline of 2-0.

It was when Watford returned to the Premier League in 2021/22 that Vardy really tormented the Hornets' defence, however, even despite the fact he was well into his 30s by this point.

In November 2021, for example, Vardy netted a brace in a 4-2 victory for Leicester at the King Power Stadium, whilst the forward was at the double once again later that season as the Foxes ran out 5-1 winners at Vicarage Road.

Earlier this campaign, as Watford and Leicester met once again, Vardy once again found the back of the net twice, even at the ripe old age of 36, helping Leicester to another 2-0 victory.

Watford would be glad to see the back of Vardy

Considering the above, whilst Watford supporters will generally be neutral as to who gets promoted to the Premier League this season, it could be a good thing for the Hornets if Leicester succeed.

You won't find any Leicester sympathy among Hornets supporters should they not. However, if the Foxes do go up, it would at least solve one problem Watford have faced.

Leicester in the Premier League would mean no Vardy against Watford, and given his goalscoring record against the club, that has to be something that would be welcomed.

Time and time again over the years, and increasingly frequently as they have passed, Vardy has helped Leicester to pick up result after result against the club, and he would not be able to do so playing in a different league.