Sheffield Utd vs Watford prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-02-24 15:00.
Nerves are jangling in the red half of the Steel City as back-to-back defeats for Sheffield United have seen an in-form Middlesbrough side cut their cushion within the automatic promotion places from ten to four points in the space of two weeks. Finding it hard to hide his emotions, Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom also faces a FA charge and touchline ban after taking his anger out on the fourth official’s board last week.
Despite their wobble, the Blades are still the masters of their own destiny and hold a game in hand over Boro. With just three defeats from their 16 home league games this term (W10, D3, L3), Heckingbottom’s men should be confident of building on their run of four unbeaten home H2Hs against Watford across the previous five meetings (W2, D2, L1).
In contrast, the Hornets buzzed back into life as they ended a five-game winless run ( D4, L1) with a highly entertaining 3-2 win over West Brom on Monday. Suspect defending was the order of the day for both sides, yet Watford boss Slaven Bilić didn’t mind winning by way of some admittedly “very sloppy goals” as they remained well in the hunt for a play-off place.
Tightening up that backline could be key for any potential upset from Watford as the two away games they’ve won since the World Cup break have also been the only two in which they kept clean sheets (W2, D2, L3). Only five of the other 23 Championship sides enter the round with a higher unbeaten rate as pre-match outsiders than Watford (60% – W4, D2, L4), so write them off at your peril!
Players to watch: An 11th league goal of the season for Sheffield United’s Iliman Ndiaye could bring the good times back to Bramall Lane as he’s been on the winning side in 11 of his last 12 scoring appearances (D1). As for Watford, Ken Sema will be looking to continue his fine form after making three goal contributions in as many appearances since returning to the squad (G2, A1).
Hot stat: Sheffield United have scored a league-high seven goals in the opening 15 minutes of their home league games.