Coventry vs Watford prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-09-01 14:00.
Last season’s Championship play-off final appearance already seems a distant memory for Coventry City, who were held to a goalless stalemate by Sunderland last Saturday, a result which sees them come into this round outside of the top-ten. Boss Mark Robins has his eyes set on improvements, insisting his side have to be “better in the final third” – a sentiment backed up by their lowly five league goals scored so far this season which perhaps doesn’t do justice to the backline that has leaked just three so far.
As they stay at Coventry Building Society Arena for the final game before international break, the party could continue for a defence that has now kept four straight Championship home clean sheets (including play-offs). They’ve also secured shutouts in three of their last four home games against Watford (W1, D3), although the fact two of those were goalless draws brings the focus back on their misfiring forwards.
Watford could make it even tougher for Coventry, with their stubborn defence having conceded a joint-league low two goals after four games (W1, D1, L2). The Hornets couldn’t make their dominance count in a 1-0 loss to Blackburn Rovers last Sunday though, leaving manager Valérien Ismaël lamenting that in the Championship “you have to take advantage when you are on top.”
The breezy opening day 4-0 win at QPR already seems an eternity ago as Watford have failed to score since netting those four goals in the opening 43 minutes of their campaign! The visitors are now in danger of failing to score for four successive league games for the first time since February 2022 and their recent away form doesn’t won’t inspire much confidence, with Watford winless their last ten away Championship games (D4, L6), failing to score in six of those.
Players to watch: Coventry’s club-record signing, Haji Wright, is making the right noises to earn a starting berth having contributed to goals in two of his last three matches (G1, A1). Mr. Right for the visitors could be Vakoun Bayo, who scored Watford’s last Championship goal back on matchday one.
Hot stat: Six of the last eight Championship games involving either of these sides have remained level at half-time.