Cardiff vs Watford prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-10-06 14:00.
Home comforts are clearly key for Erol Bulutâs Cardiff, who have picked up 75% of their points (12/16) to date this season in their own backyard. Having lost their opening home game of the Championship campaign against QPR, the Bluebirds have won all four of their games since, and will be relishing a return to the Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday.
Cityâs 2-0 midweek defeat at Middlesbrough brought an unwanted end to a run of four league wins on the bounce, and was also the first time in any game this term that they hadnât found the back of the net at least once. Despite the defeat, Turkish boss Bulut said he was âsatisfiedâ with what theyâd achieved so far, though admitted he âwants moreâ from his team.
Aiming to prevent âmoreâ from coming this weekend will be struggling visitors Watford, who ten games in (W2, D3, L5), look more likely to remain in a relegation scrap than trouble anyone at the top. Having thumped QPR 4-0 on the opening day to appear a rampant side, the Hornetsâ slump has been a remarkable one, and following an unsuccessful trip to the North East on Wednesday night with a 2-0 defeat at Sunderland, they have now lost their last three.
Contrary to the revolving door approach at Vicarage Road in recent years though, manager Valérien Ismaël recently signed a contract extension, raising eyebrows given the precarious league position they currently find themselves in. Watford picking up just one point on their travels so far (D1, L3) can shoulder some of the blame, but they will be encouraged ahead of the long journey to South Wales by a record of five wins in the last seven H2Hs between these two clubs (L2).
Key battle: Amidst a growing injury list, Ike Ugbo is in line to start for the Bluebirds, and he has the highest xG of anyone in their squad at present (0.61), netting three league goals already this season. Watfordâs only two wins have been âto nilâ, and if theyâre going to pull off a shock here, key defender Wesley Hoedt will need to step up with a big performance. He was yellow carded when these two sides last met.
Hot stat: No side in the division has scored more second half goals in home matches than Cardiff (nine), while Watford rank joint-second worst for goals conceded away from home in the second 45 (seven).