Watford vs QPR prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-08-04 14:00.
Ahead of their 2023/24 Championship season opener, Watford are proving one of the harder teams for people to generate a prediction on, with plenty having happened over the summer at Vicarage Road. One of the headlines saw the appointment of a new manager, something Watford fans are more than used to with three different coaches in the hot seat last term, meaning the newly appointed Valérien Ismaël better hit the ground running.
The Hornets fans should have no problem pronouncing Ismaël’s name, although it might always remind them of their dearly departed star-player Ismaïla Sarr who left for Marseille, along with their top-scorer last season in João Pedro who moved to Brighton. Watford have at least brought in reinforcements in the hopes of bettering their 11th place finish from last season, with the likes of former Premier League players Jamal Lewis, Jake Livermore, and Tom Ince coming in.
But for all of Watford’s season-predicting uncertainty, most have identified QPR to have a particularly troublesome season, with doubts around manager Gareth Ainsworth’s abilities after their paltry 20th-placed finish last season. That was largely due to the fact that since Ainsworth’s first game in charge on the 25th of February, only relegated Reading won less Championship points (nine – excluding points deductions) than QPR’s 11 (W3, D2, L8).
The Hoops therefore start a ninth successive Championship campaign with the tag of relegation candidates on their back, and with hardly any noticeable summer signings to alleviate those fears, a 5-0 pre-season humbling by League One Oxford United only served to heighten the negativity. It’s not all doom and gloom if their recent clashes against Watford are anything to go by though, with QPR undefeated in the last seven Championship H2Hs (W5, D2).
Players to watch: Watford shouldn’t worry if new-signing Rhys Healey gets off to a slow start, as 13 of his last 15 goals have come after half-time. Almost the opposite is true of QPR’s Lyndon Dykes, who recently penned a new contract at the club, with 11 of his last 13 league goals arriving before the half-time whistle.
Hot stat: Watford have lost their opening league fixture only once in the last 16 seasons (W9, D6).