Federico Ravaglia has outlined the Hornets' priorities during the fortnight without domestic action as they prepare for their trip to Bramall Lane.

Watford will be using the international break to refine a tactical change to their defence ahead of their clash with Sheffield United next weekend.

While United began the second period of the season with an impressive 3-0 victory over Lincoln City, Watford got off to a horrendous start, conceding nine goals in two games in their 4-0 and 5-1 defeats to struggling Burnley and Cardiff City, respectively.

However, since then, they’ve only conceded five in their last five games, keeping two clean sheets along the way, with the most recent coming against Middlesbrough, who were league leaders going into the fixture.

Alessio Dionisi’s side had held out for a 0-0 draw against Boro on Saturday afternoon, which would have felt like a win for the Hertfordshire club.

The Hornets will travel to Bramall Lane next weekend in hopes of continuing their much improved defensive displays.

Watford goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia has made the third most saves in the division so far, with 51, and has been pivotal to his team’s defensive turnaround.

Ravaglia said: “We spoke a lot after Burnley and Cardiff because something was wrong.”

“We fixed something and found a great solution at home, especially where we are defensively solid.

“We have defended compactly and aggressively, and that has allowed us to get the three consecutive home clean sheets,” he added.

Nine Watford first team players have been called up to their respective nations this November, but the Italian goalkeeper has insisted that he and his teammates who are staying are fully committed to perfecting the new system during this hiatus of domestic football.

“Now we have to also do this job away, and the international break will give us the time to improve and work on this.”

The Blades will be hoping they can dismantle the Hornets’ defence despite their attempts to further strengthen their defensive worries, and return after the interval in similar fashion to how they did last time.