Cast your mind back to the start of 2023 and Watford went through a spell where they had 16 players ruled out, almost all of whom were injured.

Fast forward to today, and head coach Valerien Ismael has no injury concerns and, but for one suspension, can pick from a full squad.

“I think this is the first time we have every player fit and available, obviously with the exception of Ryan Andrews who is suspended,” he said.

“But all the players are fit – yesterday when I was putting the names on the board for the training session, all the names were on the right side . . . and the right side means you are fit.

“To see the left side of the board empty was a great feeling.

“Having players fit means more quality in the training sessions, more desire to be in the squad and you see all the natural behaviours you need to be ready for a game.

“We have a high level of competition within the squad. The players want to play.”

The only question mark going into the international break was Francisco Sierralta, who limped off in the 1-1 draw at Cardiff.

“He had a slight muscle injury and was out for about 10 days, but he trained yesterday and he’ll train today as well,” said Ismael.

“We’ll assess him today. He will be available, it’s question of whether that is to start the game or come from the bench.”

Having made changes to his starting line-up already and with the benefit of almost 100% availability, Ismael can pick the team he wants.

“The message we sent across from the beginning was that nobody was guaranteed a place, but if you are missing players or they are not ready to compete then you have to be patient,” he said.

“We are working very closely with the medical staff, and we trust in the work they do. We always have to assess how far we can push the players, and we have to respect the information they give us.

“At the moment, we didn’t need to rush anything with any player. For me, availability is the main thing.

“If you can get 100% availability of players for training sessions, you raise the quality of the session, the work, the game. You then have more chance to win games.”

Naturally, having virtually every player to pick from for a home game against the bottom side that hasn’t won a league game this season means the pressure will be on the Hornets.

“It is good to have pressure sometimes, as it shows that what you are doing means a lot,” said the head coach.

“But we also have to enjoy what we are doing in order to make the impact we want tomorrow.

“The fans will always have a big impact, and that is the case whether we play at home or away. They always give us a good feeling about the situation, and give us a good reaction.

“We want to show togetherness, and by staying together we can get back to winning.”