Watford Championship Odds: Things looking up for the Hornets?

Despite the unpopular decision to sack Tom Cleverley at the end of last season, the 2025/26 campaign has brought a new dose of optimism to Watford Football Club. There’s the ongoing frustration surrounding owner Gino Pozzo and where he wants to take the club, but on the whole, it’s been a summer that has allowed the Hornets to look up the table rather than over their shoulders. 

Below you can find my Watford Championship Odds, along with a season preview. 

Cleverley’s replacement Paulo Pezzolano has plenty of promotions on his CV, all around the globe. He took Torque in Uruguay up to the top tier, repeated the feat with Cruzeiro in Brazil and also took Real Valladolid up to La Liga in his last job. It’s clear to see why Pozzo has taken a punt on the Uruguayan boss then, but he still has plenty to prove in England.

I can also understand why Cleverley was sacked, despite his popularity. Since the turn of the year, no Championship team amassed fewer points than Watford and the season had rather petered out with a whimper - after an early play-off push. Now the new manager is being backed, Watford could spring a surprise or two. 

Championship Odds

Transfer business

In: Nestory Irankunda (£2.5m), Othmaane Maamma (£1m), Vivaldo Semedo (undisclosed), Marc Bola, Nathan Baxter, Hector Kyprianou (all free), Luca Kjerrumgaard (loan). 

Out: Mileta Rajovic (£2.5m), Francisco Sierralta (£1.5m), Ryan Porteous (£750k), Antonio Tikvic (£600k), Jorge Hurtardo (loan). 

There’s been some exciting additions, none more so than Bayern Munich’s Nestory Irankunda who joins the club having spent the second half of last season on loan at Grasshopper. He’s only 19, but has been talked up by Watford’s sporting director Gian Luca Nani:

"Nestory can be a very special player and we believe he can realise his potential here, with us. He is exactly the sort of profile (head coach) Paulo (Pezzolano) wanted in a winger.

"Nestory was extremely sought-after and thanks to our established scouting network and connections we were able to be ahead of others in the race to sign players of this potential."

I’m excited about his arrival, while Hector Kyprianou is a great pick-up on a free from Peterborough United. He should help their midfield while the Udinese connection has delivered them Luca Kjerrumgaard on loan, who scored 22 goals in 28 matches for OB last term. He could provide the goals they need, as Mileta Rajovic heads out the door for a decent fee having not quite produced in a yellow shirt. 

Key Player: Giorgi Chakvetadze

The Georgian international is just a superb footballer to watch, especially at this level. His low socks look and immense dribbling ability draw obvious comparisons to Jack Grealish, who also flourished in the Championship with Aston Villa. 

Now 25, it feels as though Chakvetadze has to have a better season in terms of output - goals and assists. Remarkably he only scored two goals and got six assists across 39 matches last term, even though for opposition fans he was clearly one of the standout talents in the division. Along with Rocco Vata and the new arrivals, he will be trusted to step up a level and fire Watford towards the play-offs. 

He’s got so much to his game, but needs to work on getting those numbers up if the Hornets are going to trouble the play-off chasers. 

Prediction: 11th

This is positive, given I was one of a number of pundits who predicted Watford to struggle last season. As I’ve said, I think the managerial change might just pay off, and the refresh of this squad is much-needed. 

Football Odds

They’ve now got so many exciting attacking players that you would expect them to score more goals than they did last term, while Imran Louza remains at the club at the time of writing and is a key cog in midfield. He and Kyprianou could strike up a top midfield partnership, and allow the others in front of them to cause chaos.

I’m excited about where Watford can go this term, but I can’t put them any higher than 11th. Whether that would be enough for the manager to keep his job, remains to be seen.

Today's Football Fixtures

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