Top match on Monday night in the Championship!
West Brom and Watford conclude the second matchday in the Championship. The home side started the new season with a fair draw at Middlesbrough and the visitors recorded a slightly fortunate 1-0 home win against the “Blades” from Sheffield.
Their start as relegated from the top flight was thus satisfactory, at least from a result point of view. For the match at the Hawthorns between West Brom and Watford, the tip is aiming for goals on both sides.
West Brom – Statistics & current form
The White-Blue were relegated from the top flight just over a year ago and were unable to make the jump back to the Premier League last season. In the end, they only managed a mediocre tenth place at the final reckoning.
Now, coach Steve Bruce’s side will be looking for another shot at promotion. The home side will be counting on home advantage in the upcoming encounter.
While the West Midlands side only picked up 23 points away from home last season, their home tally was much better with 44 points. Only four teams topped Birmingham’s home record (12-8-3).
Furthermore, the low number of only three defeats together with Bournemouth represented the best value in the Championship. Karlan Grant was particularly convincing in the attack last season with a whopping 18 goals.
The attacker is still on board and proved with three goals in the final four test matches that he is also currently efficient.
Swift has already arrived in the best possible way
This also applies to newcomer John Swift. The 27-year-old joined from league rivals Reading FC, where he delivered double-digit goals and assists last season.
He also scored on his debut for the Thrushes against Middlesbrough to secure Albion’s point against Boro.
On top of that, Swift, who has only made one Premier League appearance for Chelsea in his career, has scored in three of the last four competitive and test matches!
With that in mind, the West Brom-Watford clash is also a good time to bet on his next goal.
Predicted West Brom line-up:
Button – O’Shea – Ajayi – Townsend – Furlong – Livermore – Molumby – Swift – Phillips – Wallace – Grant
Last matches played by West Brom:
Championship
30/07/2022 – Middlesboro 1 – 1 West Bromwich
Club Friendlies
23/07/2022 – West Bromwich 2 – 1 Hertha BSC
20/07/2022 – Oxford 0 – 3 West Bromwich
16/07/2022 – Crewe 1 – 1 West Bromwich
14/07/2022 – Northampton 0 – 3 West Bromwich
Watford – Statistics & current form
The Hornets have either been promoted or relegated over the past three seasons. Now the footballers from Vicarage Road find themselves back in the Championship for the time being.
However, they are once again among the particularly hot candidates for promotion, as the squad is comparatively well-stocked. However, Joao Pedro and Ismaila Sarr should improve in the offensive, as they remained rather pale in the previous relegation season in the top flight.
At least in Sarr’s case, however, this was also due to a lengthy absence, and his form is currently back on track.
He set up the decisive winner in the opening win against Sheffield United and before that he had already been successful in the pre-season when he scored a brace against Wycombe Wanderers.
The goal against the Blades on matchday one was again provided by the aforementioned Joao Pedro, so he too is showing signs of improving form.
Bayo now also wants to score on the island
For the attack, Vakoun Issouf Bayo was signed on top of a powerful striker from the Belgian Jupiler League. The striker from the Ivory Coast scored eleven goals in only 16 appearances for the “Zebras” from Charleroi last season!
Despite the departures of Cucho Hernandez and Joshua King, the visitors’ offensive is quite good. Against this background, the odds on the Golden Boys scoring more than one goal in the duel between West Brom and Watford are even better.
The win against Sheffield also marked a successful debut for new coach Rob Edwards, who took over from Roy Hodgson.
The 39-year-old manager led Forest Green Rovers to League One last season and is now in charge of the Championship for the first time.
Edwards can win promotion
As a player, he certainly has fond memories of the division, having been promoted to the Premier League with the Seasiders during his time at Blackpool in 2010!
The move to the PL was a first for the club, although the joy didn’t last long as they went straight back to the Championship.
Emmanuel Dennis, Watford’s top scorer in the last season, also continues to feature in the attack. He made a late return to preparation after injury, but scored on his first outing against Wycombe Wanderers.
Predicted Watford line-up:
Bachmann – Cathcart – Sierralta – Kabasele – Kamara – Cleverley – Kayembe – Dennis – Sema – Sarr – Joao Pedro
Last matches played by Watford:
Championship
02/08/2022 – Watford 1 – 0 Sheffield United
Friendly club matches
23/07/2022 – Watford 0 – 0 Southampton
16/07/2022 – Watford 4 – 1 Wycombe
12/07/2022 – Watford 0 – 2 Bolton
10/07/2022 – Watford 0 – 0 Panathinaikos
West Brom – Watford Direct comparison / H2H record
West Brom and Watford last faced each other in July last year. However, it was only a test match that ended goalless. At competitive level, you have to go back to March 2018 to discover the clubs’ most recent clash.
Back then, the clubs still crossed blades in the Premier League and Watford scored a 1-0 home win. Thanks to the win, the visitors are unbeaten in three comparisons in this pairing (2-1-0).
West Brom – Watford Tip
West Bromwich and the “Yellow Army” are two promotion aspirants facing each other. The home side have the slightly weaker squad compared to the relegated Premier League side, but can rely on the home bonus.
Last season, the home side did not lose more than three of their 23 home games! Also against their upcoming opponents, the hosts can point to a very good home record from the recent past: Only one of the last ten home games against the Hornets was lost (5-4-1).
For the upcoming clash between West Brom and Watford, the prediction now includes a goal celebration on both sides. Both the hosts and the visitors have strong attacking lines that score with high individual class.
Moreover, goals on both sides have been almost the norm in Albion’s home games against Watford recently: In 70 per cent of the last ten matches of this kind, such a course of play could be observed!
