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Watford v Blackburn
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Date: 27th August
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Competition: EFL Championship
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Kick off: 12:00
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Watch live: Sky Sports Football
Two clubs that will be aiming for top six spots in the Championship meet at Vicarage Road on Sunday. Both have shown some promise in the early weeks, but there have also been setbacks in terms of the results for both teams as well.
Watford endured a poor season after Premier League relegation last term. The initial appointment of Rob Edwards didn’t work out for the club, and Edwards’ subsequent success with Luton Town, taking them to the Premier League, must be a source of frustration for many connected to the Hornets. Slaven Bilic was unable to improve matters enough to bring the Hornets into contention, and, finally, Chris Wilder oversaw a drift toward mid-table. It was clear to see for anyone who watched Watford last season that there were many problems that needed to be addressed.
There has been a bit of a clearout and re-shaping of the team under new boss Valerien Ismael. Ismael had become synonymous with a particular style of play in the Championship given his work with Barnsley and West Brom, but initial signs at Watford appear to be that he is approaching the season slightly differently with the quality of players at his disposal. Certainly, getting that great start at home to QPR has given Ismael a nice bedding-in period.
Blackburn missed out on the play-offs by the barest of margins last season. Despite occupying a play-off position for most of the season, the seventh-placed finish was still quite an achievement for the club, and the highest that they have finished since relegation from the Premier League over a decade ago.
Jon Dahl Tomasson has taken his time to embed the style of play that he wants his team to play. He is a big worker on the training ground and has great relationships with his players in order to make a small, young squad as tactically astute and flexible as they are. Rovers have begun to become quite a possession-dominant team, but a disappointing loss at home to Hull last week has dented their momentum somewhat.
There is some inconsistency in results, but general positivity around the performances at both clubs. This can form the basis of a couple of good betting angles for a Watford v Blackburn Bet Builder. This preview has an intriguing 3/1 shot and a bigger priced alternative at 20/1, levelling up on the original angles, to take a look at.
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Val-Ball 2.0 allows skilled midfielders to continue to strut their stuff
Last season brought much more criticism of the Pozzo family than has been heard before during their reign at Vicarage Road. The heavy rotation of managers at the club had been accepted as something that the fans had to get used to, and it was fine as long as the club was showing signs of success. Premier League spells were the norm for the Hornets, and any time spent in the second tier was usually as a dominant force in the league.
Now the general feeling around the club is that Valerian Ismael needs to be given the time that Rob Edwards wasn’t given to actually build something to get Watford back to the upper echelons of the league. Concerns that Ismael may come in and change the style of play so extremely have simmered down having watched the opening games of the season. Watford have highly-paid and highly-talented individual players in their midfield area, especially Imran Louza and Yaser Asprilla. To his credit, Ismael has recognised that if he can get the best out of those two then Watford will benefit from that.
Louza was prevented from helping the side in the first half of last season by injury. On ability he has a claim to stake as the best creative midfielder in the Championship, and he is a leader at Watford. Blackburn will certainly need to look at a way of keeping the Moroccan schemer under wraps. However, Asprilla is a massive talent as well, and any extra cover that is given to Louza may free up the young Colombian, still only a teenager, to work some of his own magic. Watford can be hopeful of a positive season if those two can work together in the same side. A new forward may be required to maximise their potential, and full back is another potential development area for the team if they want to push for promotion.
Watford team news
Daniel Bachmann has got the goalkeeper jersey for now, and was made captain as well, so his position is pretty secure at this moment in time. Academy product Ryan Andrews has done well at right back, providing a forward thrust from that position. Meanwhile, James Morris has forced his way in at left back, but still lacks experience at this level. Ryan Porteous and Wesley Hoedt are the undoubted first-choice pairing in central defence at the moment.
Ismael is likely to go with a high-pressing 4-3-3 style, with Jake Livermore using his experience to anchor the midfield to allow Louza and Asprilla to affect the play higher up the pitch.
Ken Sema has been a threat for Watford in the Championship for a number of seasons now, and he could play alongside Georgian signing Georgi Chakvetadze, Ismael Kone, or Vakoun Bayo in attack. Rhys Healey was on the bench against Stoke and could be given a chance in this one, and new signing Mileta Rajovic will be hoping for opportunities soon.
Tomasson hoping that ‘complicated situation’ is cleared up soon
Blackburn head coach Jon Dahl Tomasson spoke to the media ahead of the match and outlined the state of the squad of players that he is preparing for this match. There have been a number of knocks and other injuries that the Dane is having to deal with and he admits that the squad is stretched at this stage.
This is particularly the case in two positions, left back and centre forward. The team news will cover this in more detail, but Tomasson was at pains to point out that Ryan Hedges is the oldest player in the squad at 28 years old, and that a number of young players will travel on this set of away fixtures that Rovers now face.
On the pitch itself, Tomasson is clearly very happy with what he has seen from his side. The team is playing with great character and some bravery on the ball. Central defenders Dominic Hyam and Hayden Carter have combined well with their full backs and midfielders to start attacks in a controlled manner.
Rovers have created a high number of chances in open play in the early stages of the season, in stark contrast to their start last season. If the head coach gets his wish for reinforcements in the last week of the transfer window, then there is real promise in this young squad.
Adam Wharton is a real star in the making and his battle with Watford’s midfielders promises to be a real highlight of the match on Sunday.
Blackburn team news
Suspension to Harry Pickering following his red card against Hull last Saturday meant that there had to be changes to the Rovers XI for this match regardless of fitness. However, the lack of depth in the squad makes selection both straightforward but also concerning for Tomasson here. Aynsley Pears has the gloves at the moment, but new signing Leopold Waldstedt is getting up-to-speed and will be pushing him for the #1 slot.
Callum Brittain is likely to be given a start at left back to cover Pickering’s absence. This makes all of Blackburn’s back four right-footed. Hyam, Carter, and Joe Rankin-Costello will make up the rest of the defence. Captain Lewis Travis and Adam Wharton are likely to be the double-pivot in midfield. John Buckley doesn’t appear to have turned his form around in the early part of the season and Sondre Tronstad, the new signing, will likely be the next cab off the rank in that position if a change is made.
The front four will certainly see Sammie Szmodics in it. The former Peterborough and Colchester man is a key player for Tomasson, and is likely to play in the #10 role. Ryan Hedges will play off the right, and either Tyrhys Dolan or Dilan Markanday will take up the other wide forward role as Arnor Sigurdsson has suffered a further injury setback. Harry Leonard is last man standing to lead the line with Niall Ennis and Sam Gallagher both lacking fitness. Ennis picked up a knee injury vs Hull and Gallagher has barely trained this week.
Watford v Blackburn Cheat Sheet
Here it is. The Watford v Blackburn Cheat Sheet. All the previously mentioned stats can be found on the Cheat Sheet, as well as many more. From referee card stats to player passing stats, everything you could want to help pick out your bets is included.
The two levels of bet builder below have also been hand-picked from the Cheat Sheet. They have been chosen from a combination of player form, historical averages, and the perceived value of the selection. Again, should any of the levels pique your interest, then take advantage of Paddy Power’s incredible sign offer by placing £10 on level 1 or 2, and then see the £50 in free football bet builders roll into your account.
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ABC’s 3/1 Watford v Blackburn bet builder
⛳ Over 4.5 Watford corners
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Odds: 1.40
Watford tend to do well with the number of corners that they get at Vicarage Road. They average seven corners a match at home in the Championship in the last 15 matches there, this includes six given in the match against Blackburn Rovers last season.
Their away record for corners is nowhere near as strong, making this a good angle for Watford home matches. Blackburn average conceding six corners a match over their last 30 Championship matches, so the odds look good for five or more Watford corners here.
*Click the drop-down arrow to view full bet research
🛑 Callum Brittain to commit 1+ fouls
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Odds: 1.44
If Brittain does start then it will be his first start in the Championship this season, and it is on his less-favoured left side. He could be a bit rusty despite his 70 minutes on the pitch last week, though he did concede a foul in that match regardless.
He will be in direct competition with the likes of Chakvetadze, Sema, or Ismael Kone, or even Tom Ince, all of whom have skill and pace to use in the wide areas.
The main reason for this angle though is that he is also up against the overlapping Ryan Andrews. Andrews has been responsible for more fouls committed against a Watford player than anyone else in yellow since the beginning of the campaign.
*Click the drop-down arrow to view full bet research
🚀 Ryan Andrews to have 2 or more shots
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Odds: 1.73
The right backs of both sides are going to be key attacking weapons here. However, Joe Rankin-Costello has been found out by the bookmakers in terms of price, whereas Andrews’ price is a bit more palatable.
The right back had five shots in his last home match against Plymouth Argyle and though he only had one last time out against Stoke, he is likely to be used as more of a weapon back at home and this is a fair price for this number of shots.
ABC’s 20/1 Watford v Blackburn bet builder
Note: Level 2 is simply a more aggressive version of the Level 1 bet builder.
⛳ Over Watford 5.5 corners
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Odds: 1.85
As the home team Watford are likely to boast the majority of attacking territory. Their record of winning corners from the positions is very strong.
As mentioned above, their average number of corners won at home is seven, which gives up some headroom on the over 5.5 line, therefore the price look generous.
*Click the drop-down arrow to view full bet research
🛑 Callum Brittain to commit 2+ fouls
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Odds: 3.10
Brittain averages a foul every 90 minutes over Blackburn’s last 30 games. Add to this the threat of Ryan Andrews and the fact that he is almost certain to play 90+ minutes as a result of Blackburn’s lack of options at left back, there is that chance he will concede more than one foul in this match.
The fact that we can get over 3.0 on this makes this a value addition to a bet builder.
🚀 Ryan Andrews to have 3 or more shots
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Odds: 3.40
We already know that Andrews will be a key attacking weapon for the Hornets.
If he goes half way to taking the number of shots he did in Watford’s last home match then he can clear this line.
*Click the drop-down arrow to view full bet research
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