Queens Park Rangers will be hoping for more after securing their second win of the season on Wednesday but the trip to Watford will not be an easy one.
Watford have been eyeing the summit for a while now but the teams at the top are unlikely to drop too many points in the near future. The best-case scenario is a place in the Top 6 but in order to stay there longer, Watford have to stop conceding goals.
Compared to the rest of the teams near the top of the table, Watford's defence is worthy of a team in the relegation zone. The team has a 26:24 goal difference in 17 rounds, so it is truly peculiar how they have 29 points. But we have to point out that their bad performances have all been away from home.
Only one team has conceded more goals than them on the road. Luckily, the next game will be at home, and the Vicarage Road has been a fortress this season. Watford are undefeated at home this season, with seven wins and one draw. Moreover, they've only conceded four goals.
That's not something you want to hear if you are a fan of a team that's fighting for its place in the league. Queens Park Rangers remain second-to-last in the league, but they finally ended their 13-game winless streak. Both of their wins this season came on the road, which frankly is the only positive ahead of this clash.
How the bookies view it: Watford Overpriced?
Bookmakers give the upper hand to Watford and the home side is available at 9/10 at Kwiff. The bookmaker priced the visitors at 28/9, while the draw is available at 37/14.
Recent head to head: Watford B2B
Watford and QPR have produced some thrillers in recent years. Both sides had good and bad periods, with QPR winning three in a row before the two fixtures last season. Watford won both H2Hs last season, scoring six goals.
Players to watch: Bayo decided to finally step up
Watford needed a more effective striker and Vakoun Issouf Bayo stepped up. The 27-year-old is already having his best season since joining Watford, with seven goals in 16 appearances in the Championship. More importantly, the Ivorian scored six of those goals in his last five Championship games.
Probable line-ups
Watford: Bachmann, Morris, Porteous, Pollock, Ebosele, Louza, Kayembe, Andrews, Baah, Chakvetadze, Bayo
QPR: Nardi, Ashby, Cook, Dunne, Paal, Field, Varane, Madsen, Saito, Smyth, Celar
Anything else catch the eye?
It appears that no team is quite capable of beating Watford at home. The team played 10 home matches this season across all competitions and won nine of them. They barely conceded a goal in four out of 10.
No team has scored at Vicarage Road since early October, which makes it extremely hard to expect goals, even with all the stats that suggest it. Watford have had the most Overs since the start of the season out of the entire Championship (11 out of 17).
This is an early fixture and the early kick-offs often have unexpected results. We wouldn't risk it with the over/under market but we definitely back Watford to win here.
This England Championship match between Watford and QPR will be played on Nov 30, 2024 and kick off at 12:30. Check below for our tipsters best Watford vs QPR prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
