Watford vs Stoke City Predictions

Hornets can sting struggling Stoke

Take Watford to beat Stoke at Vicarage Road on Saturday. The visitors have lost their last three Championship away games and Javier Gracia’s side can take advantage.

Stoke are seven places above Watford in the table, but both teams have won more games than they’ve lost this season. The hosts are 14th with seven wins and six defeats, while Stoke are seventh with ten wins and eight losses.

Watford have gone eight home games since their last defeat in the Championship and have only lost one of their last eight head-to-heads with Stoke.

Their defence has been solid in recent encounters with Stoke, keeping clean sheets in four of the last six Championship meetings between the sides.

Watford have scored in 14 of their last 15 Championship games, including a 3-2 win over Norwich two weeks ago. They have averaged 1.83 goals a game in their six home games against top-half teams this season.

Stoke are out of form, and backing their opponents during their current run of five defeats in seven Championship games would have resulted in a profit of 5.80 units.

Stoke are enduring a rough spell, having lost five of their last seven Championship matches. They have not won any of their last three away games and have sustained four defeats in their last six on the road.

The Stoke back line has been unconvincing of late. It’s four Championship games since they last recorded a shutout, and they have failed to keep a clean sheet in seven of their last nine league matches.

With the Championship averaging 2.7 goals a game this season, and both teams tending to lose or win by a single goal, Watford may be able to edge out Stoke in a close game, with a 2-1 home win the correct-score pick.

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Edited by Mark Langdon