Watford vs Sheffield Wed prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-10-20 14:00.
Watford went into the international break with a little something to cheer as they halted a three-game losing run by coming from a goal down to draw 1-1 against Cardiff. Manager Valérien Ismaël would have loved a victory, but is willing to “take it step by step” as they aim to steer clear of the relegation zone having spent the break two points above the bottom-three, raising fears they could possibly drop into English football’s third tier for the first time this century.
The Hornets will probably be buzzing to face basement side Sheffield Wednesday next, not only thanks to their opponents’ lowly placing, but also because they boast an unbeaten H2H record since a December 2013 loss (W3, D2). That defeat came at Vicarage Road, but was Watford’s only reversal from the last ten home league H2Hs (W7, D2). In addition, eight of their ten points in this league campaign have been earned here, leaving fans hopeful of a positive result as they plot a route up the table.
Wednesday will start this game with their seventh manager in five years, as the 34-year-old German coach Danny Röhl replaces Xisco Muñoz, who was sacked after overseeing their worst-ever ten-game start to a season. Röhl becomes the youngest manager in the English Football League and spoke about having “prepared the past 10 years for this situation”, but as he inherits a side that’s seven points adrift of safety, this is likely to be a tougher challenge than assumed.
History is also firmly against Wednesday as they aim to become just the second Championship team in seven seasons to avoid relegation having won no more than three points across their first 11 games (D3, L8). Should they fail to win here, the Owls will become the first Championship team since 2013/14 to start a campaign without a win in 12 games – their own embarrassing record they risk equalling.
Players to watch: Watford midfielder Tom Ince has a joint-high four assists in 16 personal games against Wednesday, each coming in a win. Anthony Musaba was the last player to score for the visitors back in September, with Wednesday attempting 31 shots without a goal since.
Hot stat: Eight of the last ten H2Hs and six of Wednesday’s last nine Championship matches have returned an odd number of goals.