Watford vs Swansea prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2024-03-05 19:45.
Widely regarded as a trigger-happy club where sacking managers is concerned, Watford have so far stood by Valérien Ismaël, but after a 1-0 defeat to Millwall at the weekend, there is growing unrest amongst the fanbase. Undeterred, Ismaël insists he wants his side to continue playing “positive” football, but even he must be able to admit there hasn’t been many positives of late for a side who’ve won just one of their last eight Championship games (D2, L5).
Starting this midweek round in the top-half but just six points above the drop zone, their table position isn’t perhaps as secure as it may seem. Their downfall has been particularly pertinent at home, where the Hornets haven’t won a league game since November (D2, L5) and defeat against Swansea would mark the first time since 1972 they’ve opened a calendar year with four successive home league defeats.
Riding high on back-to-back wins, Swansea visit Vicarage Road bidding for a third-successive league win for the first time since October. Two wins from their last three away league H2Hs (L1) would suggest they’re good value to at least make a fist of breaking that duck, and arriving on the back of winning their last two Championship road trips against sides with promotion aspirations, confidence ought to be high.
It’s not all good news for Swansea though, who after losing the reverse fixture 1-0 back in October, are now at risk of losing both H2Hs in a season for the first time since 1982/83. They’ll hope that was a one-off though, as Swansea historically boast a strong record against Ismaël-managed sides, winning four of their six such meetings (D1, L1).
Players to watch: Watford’s Emmanuel Dennis stands on the brink of scoring in three-successive home league games, although they may hope he doesn’t get that goal here as eight of his last ten scoring appearances ended in defeat (W1, D1). Swansea may look to their Brazilian sensation Ronald to heap more misery on the Hornets after he scored a first-half brace in their last away game.
Hot stat: Watford have led at half-time in a league-low two games this Championship season.