Bristol City vs Watford prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2024-01-19 15:00.
It was a night to remember for Bristol City in midweek, as they dumped Premier League West Ham out of the FA Cup in a third round replay. Boss Liam Manning said it was a night he “won’t forget”, but he’ll have to quickly park it to prepare his side for the visit of Watford, and he shouldn’t have any issues on the motivation front with his side incentivised by the possibility of completing a H2H league double for the first time since 1990/91.
That confidence boosting midweek win was certainly timely then, as Manning’s side are winless and scoreless in three league matches (D1, L2). Admittedly, two of those came on the road, and the Robins are a much stronger force at home, with four wins from their last six home league outings (L2). Expect a tight affair whatever happens though, as their last nine Championship home games have been decided by a one-goal margin (W5, L4).
Having had a couple of extra days to recover with no midweek match, play-off chasing Watford would like to think they’re well-placed to fall on the right side of those tight margins. The Hornets had a similar victory last weekend, when they defeated QPR 2-1 on their travels, a result which moved them to within a point of the top-six ahead of the round.
They ought to feel confident of potentially bridging that gap here given their fine away league form of late, with Watford the only Championship side to win four of their last five travelling league games (D1). Further confidence should come from their last 13 league visits to Ashton Gate where they’ve lost just once (W3, D9), but with Watford’s last 11 games seeing both teams score, entertainment seems a near certainty either way.
Players to watch: Bristol City’s Mark Sykes certainly has a favoured window for scoring goals, with all five this season coming in the 30’-60’ window, including in their 4-1 win in the reverse fixture. Watford’s inspiration is likely to come through Yáser Asprilla, who is their joint-leading goal contributor in the Championship this season (G4, A4).
Hot stat: The home team on the day has scored exactly once in eight of Watford’s last nine Championship games.