SM
Newcastle vs. West Ham: 23 hrs 43 mins
Upcoming predictions and previews
Collect News Data
WL
Championship | Gameweek 38
Mar 20, 2021 at 3pm UK
Vicarage Road
BL

Watford
3 - 0
Birmingham

Sema (4'), Chalobah (55'), Gray (80')
Success (44')
FT(HT: 1-0)

Pedersen (35')

Preview: Watford vs. Birmingham City - prediction, team news, lineups

:Headline: Preview: Watford vs. Birmingham City - prediction, team news, lineups:
Sports Mole previews Saturday's Championship clash between Watford and Birmingham City, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Sports Mole

Automatic promotion hopefuls Watford will face Birmingham City in the Championship on Saturday afternoon hoping to consolidate second place with a victory at Vicarage Road.

The Hornets have won eight of their last nine league games, while the visitors are looking to win their first match at Vicarage Road since April 2009.


Match preview

Watford boss Xisco hailed his side's "amazing performance" after a comfortable 4-1 win at Rotherham United on Tuesday night, but the Spaniard still feels that his players are capable of more.

Goals from Francisco Sierralta, Ismaila Sarr, Ken Sema and Dan Gosling helped the Hornets secure their fourth consecutive league victory and moved them three points clear of third-placed Swansea City, who lost to Bournemouth in midweek.

Watford head into this weekend's clash against Birmingham after winning six of their last seven league meetings against them, including a narrow 1-0 victory at St Andrew's earlier this campaign.

The Hornets have also lost just one of their last 10 Championship matches, averaging 2.24 points per game since Xisco took charge in December.

Knowing that Swansea still have a game in hand, Watford cannot afford to slip up with just nine league fixtures left to play, and a victory on Saturday would move them one step closer to an immediate return to the Premier League.

Lee Bowyer got his managerial reign at Birmingham off to a winning start with a slender 2-1 victory at home to promotion hopefuls Reading on Wednesday night.

Goals from Lukas Jutkiewicz and captain Harlee Dean gave the Blues only their fourth win in their last 20 Championship matches, moving them six points clear of the relegation zone, although Rotherham United now have four games in hand.

Even though Birmingham have three difficult fixtures coming up against Watford, Swansea City and Brentford, Bowyer is confident that his new side can survive the drop.

Saturday's match against the Hornets will be their first trip to Vicarage Road since losing 1-0 back in April 2015, and the Blues have been beaten on their last three visits without scoring a goal.

Securing a surprise victory this weekend would see Birmingham claim successive league wins for the first time since December.

Watford Championship form:
  • W
  • L
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • W

Birmingham City Championship form:
  • L
  • W
  • D
  • L
  • L
  • W


Team News

Ben Foster has featured on the Watford bench for the last two matches, after over two months out with a broken finger, and the goalkeeper is now in line to replace Daniel Bachmann in the starting lineup this weekend.

Midfielder Gosling came off the bench to score in the victory at Rotherham on Tuesday and will be pushing for a place in Xisco's starting lineup.

After winning against Reading in midweek, Birmingham boss Bowyer may decide to name the same starting lineup against the Hornets on Saturday.

Croatian midfielder Ivan Sunjic, who was dropped to the bench against the Royals, will be hoping to earn his place back in the first XI ahead of either Gary Gardner or Rekeem Harper.

Watford possible starting lineup:
Foster; Femenia, Troost-Ekong, Sierralta, Masina; Chalobah, Hughes, Zinckernagel; Sarr, Pedro, Sema

Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Etheridge; Colin, Roberts, Dean, Pedersen; Halilovic, Gardner, Harper, Bela; Hogan, Jutkiewicz


We say: Watford 2-0 Birmingham City

Birmingham will be hoping to build on an impressive victory in midweek as they look to move further away from the relegation zone. However, the visitors face a Watford side in a rich vein of form, and the Hornets should have enough quality in the final third to triumph at Vicarage Road this weekend.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:data




body check tags ::

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


amp_article__439807 : Collect and Make Data not in DataBase  : 
last updated article - 2024-06-05 12:44:17:
html db last update - 2024-06-05 12:44:17 :

ex - 7200 : read : write cache and make html
Read more!
Share this article now:


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!
Recommended Next on SM
Xisco Munoz hails Watford's "amazing performance" in Rotherham rout
Ruben's Reds denied dream start as Hutchinson-inspired Ipswich secure score draw
Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Leeds UnitedLeeds1695228121632
2Sunderland1695226121432
3Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd1610422191232
4Burnley168621961330
5Middlesbrough1683529191027
6West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom166821811726
7Watford168262524126
8Millwall166641914524
9Blackburn RoversBlackburn156451917222
10Bristol City165742020022
11Derby CountyDerby165562020020
12Stoke CityStoke165561920-120
13Norwich CityNorwich164752524119
14Swansea CitySwansea165471414019
15Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds165471826-819
16Luton TownLuton165381826-818
17Coventry CityCoventry164572223-117
18Oxford UnitedOxford Utd164571924-517
19Plymouth ArgylePlymouth164571728-1117
20Preston North EndPreston163761624-816
21Cardiff CityCardiff164481524-916
22Hull City163671621-515
23Portsmouth152671628-1212
24Queens Park RangersQPR161871326-1311
Scroll for more - Tap for full version


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
AL
Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!

Loading ...

Failed to load data.

history www

More Estevao wizardry: Chelsea prospect helps send Palmeiras top of Brasileiro

1

ME

Survival boost? Leicester 'join Man United, Arsenal' in race for striker

2

SB

Mbappe, Valverde, Bellingham register as professional Real Madrid overcome Leganes

NEW

3

MV

Ruben's Reds denied dream start as Hutchinson-inspired Ipswich secure score draw

4

RR

Sunday's Premier League predictions including Ipswich Town vs. Man United

5

SP

Preview: Barcelona vs. Brest - prediction, team news, lineups

6

PB

Team News: Who makes Amorim's first Man United XI? Will the Red Devils play 3-4-3?

7

TN

Salah the saviour: Leggy Liverpool fight back in five-goal Southampton thriller

8

ST

Preview: Sporting Lisbon vs. Arsenal - prediction, team news, lineups

9

PS

Sunday's La Liga predictions including Leganes vs. Real Madrid

10

SL


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .