Can Watford get a home win against Burnley?

The 3rd matchday is already on the agenda in the English Championship. Watford meet Burnley at home, which marks a duel of two relegated teams from the Premier League. Both have ambitions this season.

Ahead of the Watford vs Burnley match, the odds show the hosts as favourites. However, this is not clear, because both teams have qualities that are not to be underestimated, but on the other hand are still in a phase of discovery.

A win, no matter which team, would of course ensure that this team would have a broad chest. Watford will be hoping for home advantage and for that to make itself felt on the pitch. Kick-off is at 9pm on Friday.

Watford – Statistics & current form

A lot has changed at Watford FC in the summer. After a relegation to the 2nd league is often the case, this time the squad was not spared from major changes. These changes have already begun on the coaching bench, where Rob Edwards was installed, who should ideally lead the team directly back towards the Premier League. But that won’t be easy, because the Championship is a tough place.

With four points from two games, Watford actually started the season very well. Especially the attack has a lot to offer with Ismaila Sarr, who scored from his own half against West Brom, and players like Emmanuel Dennis and Joao Pedro. In addition, players such as Manaj, Chowdhury, Bayo and Gaspar have been brought to the club, which underpins their own ambitions.

Watford’s record is devastating across the season, which is hardly surprising. The last few weeks in the Premier League have seen a hail of defeats. That’s why Watford won only one of their last eleven games, losing eight of them. However, that won’t matter much as far as the new season is concerned, as Sheffield have already been beaten at home and they didn’t feel a significant dent in confidence there.

Watford with renewed momentum towards a good season

The decent start to the new season should, it is hoped, provide Watford with renewed vigour. Of course, some elements still have to find their way, but once a team plays in the upper reaches of the table, many things run by themselves. After last season, in which Watford spent more than 20 games in a relegation spot, the areas of improvement are obvious.

Defensively, more stability must be generated, because 77 goals conceded were a disastrous record. Meanwhile, 34 own goals in 38 games prove that there were problems at both ends of the pitch. That’s why coach Edwards changed the line-up a bit and helped the team find more stability and balance in the first two games.

In the first two games of the new season, Watford were much more compact and stable than in the previous season. This should help the team to achieve its goals this season. Due to this fact, our prediction before the match Watford vs Burnley is also that less than 2.5 goals will be scored in total.

Predicted Watford line-up:
Bachmann – Kabasele, Cathcart, Sierralta – Kamara, Kayembe, Cleverley, Sema – Sarr, Dennis, Joao Pedro

Last matches played by Watford:

Championship
09/08/2022 – West Bromwich 1 – 1 Watford

02/08/2022 – Watford 1 – 0 Sheffield United

Club friendlies
23/07/2022 – Watford 0 – 0 Southampton

16/07/2022 – Watford 4 – 1 Wycombe

12/07/2022 – Watford 0 – 2 Bolton

Burnley – Statistics & current form

Burnley FC have one thing in common with Watford FC as the Clarets have also been relegated from the Premier League and need to regroup. The coach is Vincent Kompany, who gained a lot of experience, especially as a player. With him, Burnley want to play a good role and finish as high up in the table as possible. With new arrivals like Maatsen, Muric, Hedilazio and Cullen, the squad has been strengthened very well.

Now Kompany has to show that he is able to bring the squad up to speed quickly and to give the team a correspondingly good style of play. Like Watford, Burnley also collected four points to start with in their first two games. The minimalism of the first two games (1-0, 1-1) was certainly an important means to success.

That’s why no one should assume that Burnley will now put a big emphasis on showing up offensively against Watford. Like Watford, Burnley also had problems offensively in pre-season, scoring only 34 goals, but the balance looked much better when it came to goals conceded (53).

Burnley rely mainly on structure and compactness

Good defensive runs, some structure going forward and balance on the field are the key elements for Burnley and Kompany, who sets the tone. This marching order also ensures that not many goals are to be expected. Therefore, ahead of the Watford vs Burnley game, our value tip is that not both teams will score.

As in the first few games, expect a 4-4-2 system to help the team maintain low spacing all over the field and provide compactness. If Burnley win at Watford, then the start of the season would be successful in any case and they could look directly further up the table.

Predicted line-up of Burnley:
Muric – Roberts, Egan-Riley, Taylor, Maatsen – Cork, Cullen, Bastien, Brownhill – Barnes, Hedilazio

Last matches played by Burnley:

Championship
06/08/2022 – Burnley 1 – 1 Luton

30/07/2022 – Huddersfield 0 – 1 Burnley

Club friendlies
16/07/2022 – Shrewsbury 1 – 3 Burnley

01/07/2022 – Burnley 1 – 0 Rochdale

Premier League
22/05/2022 – Burnley 1 – 2 Newcastle

Watford – Burnley Direct comparison / H2H record

Watford and Burnley have faced each other directly in 41 duels so far. Burnley FC have been victorious 19 times, while Watford FC have won 12 matches. Ten times the two sides have drawn. Only once in the last six matches did the home team leave the field as the winner.

Watford – Burnley Tip

After a poor season each in the Premier League, both teams are looking for stability from the start in the Championship. The hosts, as well as the visitors, have not exactly provided spectacle when the season got underway

That also has a bearing on the rating of this game. Because before the match Watford vs Burnley our tip is that less than 2.5 goals will be scored.