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Sports Mole takes a look at Watford's chances of recovering from last season's disappointment in the Championship.

One team that will have mixed feelings heading into this weekend's start of the new Championship season is Watford following their bitter disappointment in the final of the playoffs last term. Here, Sports Mole assesses their prospects over the next few months.

In:

Daniel Pudil (From Granada, Undisclosed), Uche Ikpeazu (From Reading, Free), Lewis McGugan (From Nottingham Forest, Free), Cristian Battocchio (From Udinese, Undisclosed), Marco Cassetti (From Udinese, Undisclosed), Diego Fabbrini (From Udinese, Undisclosed), Gabriele Angella (From Udinese, Undisclosed), Almen Abdi (From Udinese, Undisclosed), Javier Acuna (From Udinese, Loan)

Out:

Jonathan Hogg (To Huddersfield Town, Undisclosed), Craig Forsyth (To Derby, £150,000), Jack Bonham (To Brentford, Free), Chris Iwelumo (To Scunthorpe, Free), Stephen McGinn (To Sheffield United, Free), Mark Yeates (To Bradford City, Free), Jack Bonham (Released), Prince Buaben (Released), Stephen Hamilton-Forbes (Released), Piero Mingoia (Released), John Eustace (To Watford, Free), Britt Assombalonga (To Peterborough United - Undisclosed)

Last Season: 3rd

Manager: Gianfranco Zola

Three key players:

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Lloyd Doyley - Loyalty is a word that is not often associated with footballers in the modern day, but Doyley is a rare breed. He made his debut back in 2001 and has remained a Hornet ever since. Now aged 30, it could be a very important year for the defender. Zola may very well look to him to offer some guidance to his fellow teammates, most of whom are much younger than he is. It will be defensively where he is expected to do his main work, having only scored twice during his entire career to date.

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Lewis McGugan - At the risk of getting carried away, the signing of McGugan could turn out to be one of the best pieces of business of the summer. He has arrived at Vicarage Road with a goal return from midfield of 32 from his five seasons in the Championship with Nottingham Forest. One season in particular (2010-11) stands out for his 13-goal contribution. If the 24-year-old can get anywhere near to replicating that form, then expect Watford to be in the higher echelons of the table.

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Troy Deeney - He started last season behind bars, but Deeney ended it as one of the most feared centre-forwards in the Championship. When Matej Vydra's clinical touch deserted him during the second half the campaign, Deeney's fruitful spell proved to be a major factor as to why Watford challenged for automatic promotion up until the final day. He ended the campaign with 20 goals to his name and a similar return this time around will go a long way to helping their challenge again.

First game: Birmingham City (A), Complete fixture list

Sports Mole says: The next few months are going to be a real test of Watford's character, given the heartbreaking circumstances in which they failed to reach the Premier League. The loss of loanee Vydra will hurt, but Zola will hope that one of either Javier Acuna or Diego Fabbrini will be able to step up to fill that void. Regardless of what you think about Watford's use of the loan system last season, their style of play was a joy to watch at times. Providing that it is not altered - and there is nothing to suggest that it will be - they will be expected to battle it out for promotion again. The loophole that allowed Watford to recruit players on loan in the way that they did has been closed and this year the majority of signings have been permanent ones. As mentioned above, the addition of McGugan is an extremely positive one and could be the difference between them finishing in the top six and ending the term outside.

Predicted finish: 5th

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