Blackburn vs Watford prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-12-22 15:00.
Ten-man Blackburn Rovers went down 4-0 to Southampton last Saturday, making it a third defeat in four games for the play-off hopefuls (W1). They are still within five points of the top six after 22 rounds, but with defeats in half of their league games and only the bottom-three clubs suffering more losses at this stage, Rovers aren’t exactly covering themselves in glory.
The home fans will hope some festive cheer can lift the mood as they seek consecutive league wins at Ewood Park for the first time this campaign after a 2-1 win here against Bristol City earlier this month. There’s extra motivation to achieve that feat too, as Blackburn stand a chance to complete a first H2H league double over Watford since 1969/70 after a 1-0 win in August’s reverse fixture.
Watford will be motivated to avenge that defeat and have wind in their sails thanks to three wins across their last five games (D1, L1). The buzz in the Hornets’ camp peaked with a 5-1 demolition of Blackburn’s Lancashire rivals Preston North End last weekend, a result which marked the sixth time this Championship season they’ve picked up points after falling behind (W2, D4, L7).
The visitors may even have turned a new leaf in their travel book, having won on their last two league road trips, affording them the chance to post three Championship away wins on the bounce for the first time since April 2015. Their recent success has largely been due to an upturn in their attacking output, as those two wins saw Watford score seven goals, which was more than they'd scored in their eight previous away league outings.
Players to watch: Sammie Szmodics could be itching to get back on Blackburn’s scoresheet after a run of three games without a goal followed his five match scoring streak. Vakoun Issouf Bayo could be the one orchestrating Watford’s moves, as the forward has contributed to four of their last seven goals (G2, A2).
Hot stat: Blackburn have conceded a league-high 16 goals beyond the 75th minute ahead of the round.