England - Championship
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Watford vs Middlesbrough Prediction & Betting Tips - Championship
by Daniel Ngulu | in Championship Predictions
Watford starts life back in the Championship with a home match against Middlesbrough on Friday. The two sides had poor endings in their respective leagues last season, Watford finished 19th in the Premier League as Middlesbrough managed a 17th placed finish in the Championship. Watford still has a core of their Premier League stars in the team but few have featured in preseason activity with the club and it is doubtful if they’ll stay on. The team heads to this clash straight from two wins in preseason friendly matches – against Scunthorpe United and Tottenham Hotspur. The Hornets have new signings Jeremy Ngakia, who could start this game, and Glenn Murray, tipped to start from the bench as new managed Vladimir Ivic starts off his England experience. Watford have three wins in their last 10 competitive matches, and having managed no clean sheet in the process, this is one area Ivic will be keen to address. They conceded four goals in the three preseason matches, which signals defensive issues the coach needs to handle, but on the flipside, they have scored in all the friendly matches, which is very positive. In their last five competitive matches, Watford have failed to score in only one – against Manchester City and have a good run at home, which they should exploit here. Heading to this clash, Watford have won six and lost three of their last 12 home matches in competitive action. They have seen midfielder Abdoulaye Doucure leave for Everton this week but new man Ivic still has good quality in the squad.
Middlesbrough finished just five points above the relegation zone last season and manager Neil Warnock, with a good understanding of the squad now, should be eying a better season. Last season, they won just 13 of the 46 matches they played in the Championship, which explains their low finish and heading to this game, they have already tasted competitive action. Boro came from a goal down to see off Shrewsbury 4-3 in the Carabao Cup on Friday. They had their shaky moments in the game, early and late on but they managed to squeeze through. In this game against Watford they must do better defensively, to build on a good scoring run they have established in preseason. The team has scored 10 times in the three matches preceding their Championship opener but those have come with only one clean sheet. They scored in each of their last five Championship matches too but finished without a clean sheet in the last four matches in the league. Each of their last four Championship matches saw both sides score, and all ended in over 2.5 goals. Away from home, they were strong finishers, winning five of their last six league matches and go to Vicarage Road having won and scored twice in each of their last three away league matches. However, in their last 10 away Championship matches, Middlesbrough have managed just three clean sheets. In the last seven meetings between these two sides, Middlesbrough have no win while Watford have four wins and have kept clean sheets in their last three meetings though their last meeting was in 2017.
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Watford vs Middlesbrough Form
Watford and Middlesbrough's standings in the Championship
| Teams | Pts | P | W | D | L | GD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
2
|
91 | 46 | 27 | 10 | 9 | 33 |
|
10
|
64 | 46 | 18 | 10 | 18 | 2 |
Watford and Middlesbrough Last Matches
2/6 (33%)
0/6 (0%)
4/6 (67%)
Average stats (Last 6 matchs)
26 Jul 2020 - Premier League
21 Jul 2020 - Premier League
17 Jul 2020 - Premier League
11 Jul 2020 - Premier League
7 Jul 2020 - Premier League
4 Jul 2020 - Premier League
3/6 (50%)
1/6 (17%)
2/6 (33%)
Average stats (Last 6 matchs)
21 Jul 2020 - Premier League
11 Jul 2020 - Premier League
7 Jul 2020 - Premier League
28 Jun 2020 - Premier League
20 Jun 2020 - Premier League
29 Feb 2020 - Premier League
0/6 (0%)
0/6 (0%)
6/6 (100%)
Average stats (Last 6 matchs)
26 Jul 2020 - Premier League
17 Jul 2020 - Premier League
4 Jul 2020 - Premier League
25 Jun 2020 - Premier League
7 Mar 2020 - Premier League
23 Feb 2020 - Premier League
1/6 (17%)
1/6 (17%)
4/6 (67%)
Average stats (Last 6 matchs)
2 Jul 2020 - Championship
27 Jun 2020 - Championship
2 Mar 2020 - Championship
26 Feb 2020 - Championship
17 Jan 2020 - Championship
14 Jan 2020 - FA Cup
2/6 (33%)
2/6 (33%)
2/6 (33%)
Average stats (Last 6 matchs)
2 Mar 2020 - Championship
26 Feb 2020 - Championship
5 Jan 2020 - FA Cup
26 Dec 2019 - Championship
20 Dec 2019 - Championship
19 Oct 2019 - Championship
2/6 (33%)
1/6 (17%)
3/6 (50%)
Average stats (Last 6 matchs)
2 Jul 2020 - Championship
27 Jun 2020 - Championship
17 Jan 2020 - Championship
14 Jan 2020 - FA Cup
29 Dec 2019 - Championship
31 Aug 2019 - Championship
Watford vs Middlesbrough Stats: Head to Head (H2H)
50 %
50 %
0 %
Average stats (last H2H results)
14 Jan 2017 - Premier League
16 Oct 2016 - Premier League
Players list
B. Foster
DefenderM. Navarro
B. Wilmot
C. Kabasele
J. Ngakia
C. Cathcart
MidfielderT. Cleverley
D Phillips
N. Chalobah
ForwardJ. Pedro
G Murray
M. Bettinelli
DefenderP. McNair
D. Spence
G. Hall
A. Dijksteel
MidfielderL. Wing
J. Howson
M. Johnson
M. Tavernier
ForwardA. Fletcher
B. Assombalonga
Substitutes
D. Bachmann
DefenderF. Sierralta
M. Navarro
D Phillips
J Sinclair
G Murray
I. Pussetto
A. Pears
DefenderN. Wood
D. Fry
M. Bola
H. Coulson
MidfielderM. Browne
L. Wing
Most goals and assists
Watford
Middlesbrough
I. Sarr
(13 Goals)
D. Watmore
(9 Goals)
Watford - Middlesbrough Key Points
- Middlesbrough scored in each of their last five Championship matches.
- Watford have six wins in their last 12 home matches.
- Middlesbrough have three clean sheets in 10 away league matches.
- Watford scored in four of their last five competitive matches.
- Middlesbrough have five wins in six away Championship matches.
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Our Watford vs Middlesbrough Prediction
Middlesbrough have no win in seven meetings with Watford but they may have something to push for here, coming from a win in the Carabao Cup and facing a Watford side uncertain about key players’ futures after their relegation. Notably though, Watford still have good quality and have a good run at home, having lost just three of the last 12. On the other hand, Boro have had a good run in preseason and finished strongly in their away matches last season. The visitors know the Championship better and after the low finish they will be keen for a strong start. One factor going to this game is that the two sides have been scoring with some consistency, even though we haven’t seen the same in regards to defensive discipline. Based on that, we are backing this to be a high scoring affair, and with the teams seemingly balanced, our pick will be a 2-2 draw on the correct score scale.
All tips are fully researched and given in good faith, but profits cannot be guaranteed.
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