"Given what he lost" - Watford boss Tom Cleverley delivers Daniel Farke Leeds United verdict

Watford boss Tom Cleverley says the context of Leeds United's summer 2024 talent exodus makes Daniel Farke's management of the Whites this season worthy of praise.

The Hornets host Farke and Leeds this evening, looking to snap a four-game winless run. Saturday's 2-2 draw with Sunderland broke a run of defeats that stood at three games, but it could have brought more than just a point.

The Black Cats grabbed an 89th-minute equaliser through Dennis Cirkin, having gone 2-1 down early in the second half. But Cleverley believes the better the quality of the opposition, the better his team plays and he wants to see that again tonight.

"I said to Sky before the [Sunderland] game I believe playing against better sides brings out our best stuff, and I'm certainly hoping that continues to be the case this evening against Daniel Farke's Leeds," he said.

"Welcome to Daniel and all the guys travelling down from Yorkshire - not far from where I grew up in Bradford, of course, so I know the area and many of the people really well."

Cleverley has been impressed with what Farke has done this season, after a summer transfer window that saw the departure of arguably their three most talented individuals to Premier League clubs.

Homegrown star Archie Gray was sold to Tottenham Hotspur, Georginio Rutter moved to Brighton and Crysencio Summerville secured a move to West Ham United.

Others, like Glen Kamara and Charlie Cresswell, made permanent moves to France and there were also permanent exits for Diego Llorente and Marc Roca.

Farke likes to point out that no team in 'Western Europe' made more money in the transfer window and having initially believed he would have more control over the window than in his first summer at the club he only found his squad coming together at the last minute again.

"You have to take your hat off to Daniel," said Cleverley. "Given what he lost in the summer, he's dealt with it in his usual calm manner and had his team find that consistency again. They love to dominate and suffocate with the use of possession but I expect us at our best to prove them with a really tough test this evening.

"I can't think of too many better performances from ourselves than Leeds away this season. We were really on the front foot and in full flow that night, having had to show great resilience to climb back into the game after two early goals gave us a huge uphill task."