There was no mystery or punishment behind Imran Louza not being in the 18-man squad on Tuesday.

The Moroccan midfielder did not make the cut as the Hornets have full availability bar the injured Jeremy Ngakia, and with the same group of players to pick from ahead of Preston, could Louza miss out again?

“It’s about performances and the merit of the players. Everyone has performed well and we have expectations for each player,” explained head coach Valerien Ismael.

“This is the way we deal with the squad this season. Jake Livermore was out of the squad at the beginning of the season, as was Edo Kayembe. That doesn’t mean you are totally out of things though.

“We expect a reaction. We expect that our players will always want to fight back and force me and my staff to take a decision.”

With the January transfer window opening in a little more than two weeks, could Louza be someone who will head for the exit?

“It’s too early to speak about that as we have important games coming up,” said Ismael.

“It is always the same in every team. When players are not playing they are not happy and want a solution.

“But for now the focus is on us, the Championship and the games we will face.”

The game at Deepdale is third in a week, and on Tuesday night Watford only made one change from the side that had drawn against Southampton as Livermore came back into the side for Francisco Sierralta.

“The game will always dictate the changes,” said Ismael.

“We’ve played two games this week and now we have a third one, and we have to assess the players in terms of readiness and freshness.

“We’re working very closely with the medical department and then we take our decisions.”

Having not been as clinical as they could have been against Ipswich, the Watford forward options come into focus again and particularly Rhys Healey who is still to play more than 25 minutes in a game in the Championship.

“We have tried to find the right solution for the team and for what we want,” said the Watford boss.

“I think so far we have a good solution with Rhys with two strikers, or by playing him just behind a striker.

“We know that is more suitable, but we also know he is capable of playing that No.9 position.

“We performed well again on Tuesday and we still have good mentality within the squad.

“We have no fresh problems, everybody trained in the last training session with the exception of Jeremy.

“It’s clear the disappointment was there from the result on Tuesday, but on the other side of things there was belief, pride and an understanding that we need to look forward to future games.

“We just take games one by one, and focus on ourselves and our performances.

“The season is almost at the halfway stage and now we have clarity with regard to those things we need to improve.

“It’s fine details. The last pass, composure, more shots on target. It’s all things we have to do.”