Watford take on the visitors Stoke City in the round 25 match of English Championship. The match will be played on Friday, December 29th at Vicarage Road (Watford).
In the 2020-2021 season, Watford returned to the elite of English football after a year in the Championship but quickly dropped back down. Now, in the current season, they are making their second attempt to return to the Premier League. The first attempt was unsuccessful, as the team finished in only 11th place in the table. Currently, they are in the tenth position, just two points behind the top six. The battle for the playoffs lies ahead. Matches involving Watford are known for being interesting and high-scoring. For instance, regardless of the outcome, the Yellow Army has played seven consecutive matches against their opponents on Over 2.5 goals. Whether at home or away. In their recent home matches, they secured victories against Norwich City (3-2), a draw with Southampton (1-1), and suffered defeats against Ipswich Town (1-2) and Bristol City (1-4).
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Stoke City are attempting to return to the Premier League for the sixth consecutive season. However, their performances in recent years have been less than impressive, consistently finishing around 14th place for five years and ending 16th in the last season. Currently, the team is performing even worse, sitting in 18th place. At this rate, they could face relegation from the Championship. The matches involving Stoke City this season may not be as entertaining as those of Watford, but they manage to score exactly one goal per game and concede more than one. They also frequently play games with Over 2.5 goals, as seen in three out of their last four league matches: a victory against Birmingham (3-1) and draws against West Bromwich (1-1) and Swansea (1-1).
In this matchup, bookmakers consider Watford as favorites, given their overall better performance throughout the season. However, Watford tends to drop points too often. Therefore, I would opt for a different bet and go for both teams to score. The goal difference for Watford after 24 rounds is 38-32, which is excellent for an Over 2.5 goals prediction. Stoke City scores fewer goals than their opponents but averages scoring at least one goal per game.
Prediction for the match: Both teams to score – yes.
