Watford vs Rotherham prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-11-10 15:00.
On the back of a relatively poor start to the campaign, Watford have turned into one of the most difficult sides to beat in the Championship in recent weeks, going undefeated across their last five games (W2, D3), one of only three clubs not to have lost a game in that timeframe. With the nine points they’ve picked up, the Hornets have begun a slow but steady climb back up the table, but they still have some way to go before they can be labelled play-off contenders again.
Nonetheless, if they can avoid defeat on Saturday against a struggling Rotherham side, Valérien Ismaël’s men will be on their best run since the spring of 2021, when they went eight unbeaten in the second tier on their way to promotion to the Premier League. And with a ten-match unbeaten H2H run in tow (W6, D4), the chances of matching that appear plentiful.
Rotherham won’t hold much belief of being able to end that run here after a midweek draw at home to Ipswich made it just one win in ten league games (D4, L5), while they’re winless in their last 20 away league games (D8, L12), a run which last weekend reached the unwanted one-year landmark. Still stuck in the relegation zone, Matt Taylor’s men scored just eight goals in those 20 games, and his misfiring front line have never netted more than one in any of them.
History would suggest more of the same will be in order here given the Millers haven’t scored more than once across any of their ten winless games against Watford. February 2003 was the last time they won at Vicarage Road, but if there’s a small crumb of comfort for Rotherham to take, it perhaps comes in the fact that they drew both games against the Hornets 1-1 last season.
Players to watch: Three of Watford’s last four league goals have been scored by a substitute in the last ten minutes of a game, with Mileta Rajović grabbing one of those against Millwall in their last home outing. Rotherham defender Daniel Ayala has won just one of his six personal meetings with the Hornets (D2, L3) and was interestingly sent off on his first-ever visit to this ground.
Hot streak: There have been at least two goals scored in all 17 of Rotherham’s competitive games so far this season.