There may be a couple of changes to the team when Watford host QPR on Saturday lunchtime as Tom Cleverley looks to keep things fresh and make a better start.

The Hornets were off colour in the first half against Bristol City on Tuesday night, and were fortunate not to be trailing at the break.

A half-time substitution and some tactical tweaks improved things, but the head coach is conscious that his side need to be on it from the first minute.

“I thought three changes on Tuesday was just the right balance to freshen things up,” he said.

“We have real strength in depth in most areas of our squad, so it might be a case of a couple more changes just to keep things fresh.

“We want to make sure we see a more bubbly performance than we did in the first half on Tuesday.

“What we know for Saturday is we’re going to have to be better than we were in the first half on Tuesday.”

The Hornets have the benefit of having played on Tuesday while QPR had to travel back from Cardiff on Wednesday night, albeit with a priceless win under their belts.

“We’ve had an extra day’s recovery on QPR which is always a positive, although it always seem to balance themselves out over the course of a season.

“Sometimes you get a day less, sometimes you get a day more.

“We’ve come through Tuesday well with no new injury concerns and possibly will have a couple back on Saturday.”

The first of those possibles is striker Daniel Jebbison.

The Bournemouth loanee has played just nine minutes of football in the last six weeks, and has only played nine times so far since moving to Vicarage Road, totalling a little more than five hours on the pitch.

“Jebbison should be available for Saturday,” said Cleverley.

“He’s training tomorrow. He’s had a couple of niggles that have just kept him out of training.

“I’m expecting him to get through training tomorrow and then be ready for the weekend.”

Also likely to be back in contention is Rocco Vata, who was absent on Tuesday night for personal reasons.

Jeremy Ngakia remains in the squad after returning on Tuesday, but Angelo Ogbonna is not ready to return yet and Kevin Keben is out longer term.

“Tom Dele-Bashiru has suffered a setback in his rehab, which is the bad news for this week,” the Hornets head coach added.

Saturday’s visitors Rangers are still in the bottom three despite their victory at Cardiff, and have won only two league games all season although both of those have been away from home.

“Like all of them in this division, it’s game which will pose a threat and a set of challenges, and we’ll have to be on our A-game to get the right result,” said Cleverley.

“QPR like to play with short passes and progressing up the pitch through possession while taking some risk.

“The manager came in last season and did a great job of taking them from where they were to comfortably staying up.

“They’ve not quite kicked on this season but we saw in the week they can be dangerous.”

Cleverley said the home crowd have been a key part of the excellent Vicarage Road form.

“The supporters have been fantastic.

“We always try to be the ones to set the tone, but at key moments this season the fans have really got behind us.

“It was a flat first half on Tuesday but there was no panic in the stadium and I think there’s a sense of belief that we have built together.”