The final fixture of the weekend in the English Championship is between West Bromwich Albion and Watford at The Hawthorns. The hosts begin the weekend in 13th place on 1 point while the visitors are in 7th place on 3 points, both having played one match.
West Bromwich Albion started their campaign with a 1-1 draw at Middlesbrough last weekend.
𝗞𝗚 bringing the 😁.#FridayFeeling pic.twitter.com/c6wTwRmL17— West Bromwich Albion (@WBA) August 5, 2022
𝗞𝗚 bringing the 😁.#FridayFeeling pic.twitter.com/c6wTwRmL17
It was the hosts who opened the scoring after only 10 minutes but West Bromwich Albion came out strongly in the second half and scored the equaliser in the 51st minute. As it was the first match of the season, West Bromwich Albion will be happy to have come away with a point.
That result means West Bromwich Albion are undefeated in their 4 most recent Championship fixtures. There have been wins over Reading away and Barnsley at home towards the end of last season, the latter of which was a 4-0 victory.
West Bromwich Albion are undefeated in 6 of their last 7 home Championship games. Four of those 7 matches have ended in victory, with wins over Fulham, Bournemouth, Blackpool, and Barnsley, with two of those teams winning promotion to the Premier League.
Trends show West Bromwich have not lost in 20 of their last 23 home games in the Championship but have won only 4 of their last 10 at The Hawthorns.
Watford travel to the midlands on the back of a 1-0 home victory over Sheffield United last weekend. The only goal of the game was scored in the 56th minute and The Hornets made a good start in their bid to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
It was a key win for Watford who failed to win any of their final 9 Premier League matches last season.
They lost 8 of those 9 fixtures, with the only point coming from a 0-0 draw at home with struggling Everton. There were some heavy defeats against Leeds United, Manchester City, and Leicester City.
Watford will be looking back at their Championship form for inspiration and they have won 11 of their last 15 Championship matches. They are undefeated in 9 of their last 12 away Championship games.
Looking ahead to the team news and West Bromwich Albion should have everyone available for this game. Steve Bruce could go with the same starting XI from the draw at Middlesbrough meaning Grady Diangana will have to settle for a place on the bench.
Watford are without injured midfielder Imran Louza and have doubts over the fitness of Juraj Kucka. João Pedro will keep his place in attack following his goal last week and will be supported by Ismaila Sarr.
This could be a tight game and it is difficult call between two teams hoping to contest promotion this season. However, looking at the forwards and Watford have the greatest attacking threat and 1 goal could be enough for The Hornets to take maximum points.