Watford v Southampton

Watford vs Southampton Preview

Watford will be going in search of a third league win on the trot in the Championship on Saturday afternoon when they play host to high-flying Southampton who currently sit in fourth place in the second tier standings and the visitors will also be chasing a third victory on the trot having posted recent wins against Bristol City and Cardiff City respectively.

Watford themselves have recorded recent important wins against Norwich City and Hull City which have helped The Hornets up into the top half of the Championship table where they occupy 10th place in the second tier standings and indeed the hosts are currently enjoying their best spell of form so far this season having suffered just the one defeat out of their last nine matches overall.

It had been another disappointing start to this Championship campaign for Watford who had registered just two wins in their opening 11 league matches overall which were gained in rare victories against QPR and Birmingham City but they had also slipped to five defeats in the process as well.

Since then, Watford have picked up five further wins in the form of victories over Sheffield Wednesday, Swansea City, Rotherham United, Norwich City and Hull City so The Hornets will be brimming with confidence here.

After making an encouraging start to this Championship season following relegation from the Premier League where Southampton won three of their opening four games which included wins against Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth Argyle and QPR, the south coast club also experienced something of a lean period which brought about a worrying four-match losing streak.

Losses to Sunderland, Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Middlesbrough suggested The Saints perhaps weren't cut out to mix it with the bigger clubs near the top of the Championship table but Russell Martin's side have responded in positive fashion as the visitors have put together an impressive 11-match unbeaten sequence.

Within this promising 11-game unbeaten run, Southampton have picked up no fewer than eight wins along the way including wins achieved on the road at Stoke City, Hull City and Millwall while also losing just twice on their travels in their nine outings on the road to date this term.

The wider picture shows Saints have lost just four of their previous 20 away games in the Championship and this solid approach could just see the south coast visitors nick a narrow win here on Saturday.

Watford v Southampton Verdict

Previous exchanges between Watford and Southampton suggest The Saints may just gain the upper hand here at Vicarage Road as the visitors have won three out of the last five meetings against The Hornets and Russell Martin's side perhaps possess that extra bit of quality which could see them over the line and maintain their ambitions of at least a play-off spot.

Therefore, our main bet will be Southampton win @ 2.25

Other side bets worth considering:

Southampton win & Under 2.5 goals @ 5.00

Correct Score: Southampton 1-0 @ 8.00