Watford could change their entire starting line-up for Peterborough United cup-tie, includng Hector Kyprianou
Watford boss Alessio Dionisi could change his entire starting line-up for the visit of Peterborough United to Vicarage Road for a second round Carabao Cup tie on Tuesday.
Saturday's draw at Wrexham kickstarted a run of seven matches in 22 days amid a defensive availability crisis - and that would become nine games in 28 days if the Hornets win tonight, reported the Watford Observer.
"It will be another team, probably," Dionisi said. "At the end of Saturday’s game I watched my players and they were all tired. I'm sorry because every match is important, but I think on Tuesday we will play with another 11 starters."
OLD BOY
Posh could still reunite with former skipper Hector Kyprianou. The stylish midfielder left Posh for ‘The Hornets’ as a free agent in May, 2025. He made 140 Posh appearances, scoring 16 goals, and formed a superb midfield partnership with Archie Collins in the side that thrilled on the way to the League One play-offs in the 2023-24 season. Kyprianou skippered Posh to their EFL Trophy Final win over Birmingham City in April, 2025.
Kyprianou’s first season at Vicarage Road finished in January after 28 appearances because of injury, but he’s started all three Watford games this season, a 1-0 win over Crawley in the Carabao Cup, a 21- Championship win over Southampton at home and a 1-1 second tier draw at Wrexham.
PAST MATCHES
The teams have met just once before in the EFL Cup. Watford won the game 2-0 at Vicarage Road in January, 1971. The Hornets were a Division Two side in those days with Posh in Division Four.
Tonight will be the first meeting of the clubs since April, 2013 when Posh beat Watford 3-2 at London Road in a Championship fixture. Danny Swanson, Dwight Gayle and Lee Tom;in scored for Posh before 10-man Watford scored twice in the final five minutes. Watford had won the reverse fixture 1-0 several months earlier.
TEAM NEWS Watford are expected to make changes to their starting line-up tonight after their bruising draw at Wrexham. Star man Imran Louza, a Moroccan international midfielder is not expected to play after requesting a transfer.
REFEREE
Rookie referee Isaac Searle is the man in the middle tonight. He made his EFL debut in December last season. He has had three outings this season, one in the Carabao Cup, one in the EFL Trophy and one in the National League
BIG MATCH ODDS
Posh are a miserly 10-3 to win at Watford with Sky Bet. The hosts are 3-5 with the draw chalked up at 11-4.
MATCH INFO
If the tie is level after 90 minutes, it will go straight to penalty kicks. Teams can name nine substitutes of which five can be used.
Match tickets are available on the night, Sales will be cash only and available from the tickets and information point, a small kiosk located at the top of Yellow Brick Road nearby to the away turnstiles. It’s just £10 for adults.