Watford extended their unbeaten start to the 2022/23 Sky Bet Championship season to five games with a deserved goalless draw at Preston North End.

Both teams enjoyed chances throughout the 90 minutes at Deepdale, with Vakoun Bayo and Edo Kayembe going close to grabbing their first Watford goals in the first half, and Daniel Bachmann staying solid at the other end.

Rey Manaj was among the Hornets’ chief threats in the second 45, but Ryan Lowe’s men stood firm to keep the visitors out and maintain their own impressive record of having not conceded yet this campaign.

A third consecutive point on the road represents another positive result for Rob Edwards and his team in their pursuit of an immediate return to the Premier League, and they will head into Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup clash against MK Dons in the automatic spots of the second-tier table.

Head Coach Edwards made two changes from the side which had drawn 1-1 at Birmingham in midweek, with Manaj coming in for the injured João Pedro to make his first Hornets start, and Hassane Kamara returning from suspension to replace Mario Gaspar.

And Watford – playing in their blue away kit for the first time this season – were forced on the backfoot in the early stages, with goalkeeper Bachmann producing an acrobatic stop to deny a fizzing Alan Browne effort in the fourth minute.

Bayo spearheaded the visitors’ response with a deflected shot that won a corner three minutes later, and shortly after the 10-minute mark Kamara beat Robbie Brady down the right before earning another set-piece that ultimately came to nothing.

Bayo was at the centre of the next attack as the Golden Boys continued to grow into the first half, with home stopper Freddie Woodman doing well to block the Ivorian’s shot one-on-one after he’d profited from a loose ball.

Troy Parrott and Daniel Johnson each tried their luck from range for Preston as the home side served a reminder of their threat, and Bachmann was again alert to palm the ball away from danger following a melee in the box.

Ryan Ledson drove a piercing strike against the post from 30 yards just before the half-hour as Preston continued to push for the game’s opener, but Kayembe soon went close to notching for Watford with a shot that just drifted off target after he had beaten a string of players in white.

A corner in the 42nd minute saw Francisco Sierralta head the ball tamely into Woodman’s arms from close range, with the Chilean defender having the last meaningful say of an entertaining first period.

The game resumed tentatively after the interval, with a marauding run down the right by Kamara the pick of the first 10 minutes before Bachmann produced another quality save to keep Browne from making it 1-0 to the hosts.

Back at the other end though, Watford should have gone ahead when Yáser Asprilla unleashed Manaj on the counter-attack following a Preston corner, but the Albanian couldn’t find the target with Brady breathing down his neck.

A fine block from Christian Kabasele on the slide put paid to a Parrott attack as the chances continued at both ends, with Kayembe helping himself to another shot in space with 67 minutes on the clock.

Manaj again couldn’t test Woodman – this time on the volley - after being played through by Asprilla, and then a Bayo shot smashed into the side netting after the forward has brushed off Lilywhites defender Liam Lindsay.

Both sides threw themselves into the last embers of the clash with three points on the line, but the respective backlines weren’t to be breached and the spoils were ultimately shared at the final whistle.