NATHAN Ake is braced for the “nightmare” Troy Deeney will provide at Watford tomorrow – having battled against him in training.

The Cherries star played alongside the Hornets skipper while on loan at Vicarage Road from Chelsea during the 2015-16 season.

Ake featured 28 times for Watford during the campaign, during which Deeney registered 15 goals in all competitions.

The Dutchman said: “Troy is a very tough player to play against. He is a nightmare and is always around you. He presses very hard and is tough in the air as well.

“It will be a tough game. They have very good players and have had some great results this season.

“At home they are very tough to beat as well but we go there with confidence.

“It is always good to go back, I had a very good loan spell there and enjoyed playing for Watford.”

Ake is not alone in expecting a tough test from Deeney, with Cherries boss Eddie Howe also warning of the physical and technical talents of the 30-year-old.

Howe said: “He is a focal point for them in the frontline. Physically, he’s very good and he’s always been an excellent finisher.

“He has that physical element which I wouldn’t say is rare in the Premier League but there are not many strikers who give you that physical challenge.

“But he is also very good technically. I don’t think he would be playing in the Premier League if he had physicality but no technique.

“He’s very clever in the pockets and has the ability to finish from distance and close range. He’s a unique player.

“I think our centre-halves have done really well recently. They have relished different challenges that they have faced in the Premier League.

“One minute you are facing the speed of Crystal Palace’s players, then it’s the physicality of Watford’s players and that’s the beauty of this league – the challenge every week is different.”

The Dorset club are yet to beat Watford in six top-flight battles having drawn five times and lost once.

Ake has not missed a minute in the Premier League this season, helping Cherries to seventh in the table.

But the £20million man insisted Howe’s men would be taking nothing for granted so early in the campaign.

“We cannot go there thinking we are all that. We have to be hard to beat but we want to win for sure,” said Ake.

“We have started really well but it is just a start. We need to keep going and keep a good mentality.

“We need to watch it game by game and see how it goes but you always want to stay as high in the table as you can.

“We can achieve something if we want to. It is all about our mentality and we need to keep doing as well as we have since the start of the season and see what happens.”