Watford vs Hull Prediction: Philogene streak won’t fizzle out against Hornets

Is it all too little, too late for Hull City in their race for the Championship play-off places? A six-game winless run had seen their top-six charge falter, but seven points from the last nine available has offered them renewed hope.

One thing's for sure - they'll need to collect maximum points in their next fixture against Watford at Vicarage Road on Saturday (KO, 15:00). Below is our Watford vs Hull prediction, alongside all the latest team news and match odds.

Watford's unbeaten run under caretaker boss Tom Cleverley came to a painful end at St Mary's Stadium last Saturday as Southampton struck a 99th-minute winner to claim a 3-2 victory. The Hornets can take heart from that performance against an automatic promotion contender, though, and from the seven points they collected in a five-game spell prior to that trip to the south coast.

A 3-0 win for Hull over Queens Park Rangers on the same day was the perfect response to the Tigers' 2-2 draw with Middlesbrough in midweek that did few favours for either side in their respective bids to finish in the top six.

Liam Rosenior's side are seventh and still six points behind sixth-placed Norwich City but they do have a game in hand over the Canaries, so all is not lost with just weeks remaining of the season, though it must be said that the Norfolk club have some favourable fixtures left to play.

Team News

Watford were missing Jeremy Ngakia and Ken Sema for their defeat against Southampton, and the injured duo look set to miss out again this weekend.

Ismael Kone will be pushing for a start in midfield after scoring as a substitute against the Saints, while the likes of Ryan Andrews, Mileta Rajovic and Matheus Martins will also be hoping for minutes from the off.

Hull have welcomed several players back into the fold in recent weeks, and it was Liam Delap's turn to make his return from injury last time out as he appeared as a second-half substitute against QPR.

After such an emphatic victory, it feels likely that Rosenior will name an unchanged starting XI at Vicarage Road, where Fabio Carvalho, Jaden Philogene and Ozan Tufan will all be hoping to get on the scoresheet again after strikes from each against the Hoops.

Match Odds

Watford haven't won at home since January 6, when they beat Chesterfield 2-1 in the third round of the FA Cup, and you have to go back to November 28 to find their last Championship victory at Vicarage Road, a 3-2 success over Norwich. That probably goes a long way to explaining their odds of 6/4 on Saturday, which is the same price as Hull, with both sides given an implied win probability of 40%.

The draw is available at 11/5, while both teams to score and over 2.5 goals, which both landed in the reverse fixture at the MKM Stadium on December 12 when Watford won 2-1, are at 8/13 and 4/5, respectively.

Jaden Philogene to score anytime @ 13/5

He's had his injury issues this season, but it's still been a pretty remarkable 2023/24 campaign for Philogene, who has scored 11 times in 28 Championship appearances for the Tigers.

Three of those goals have come in his last three, with strikes against Cardiff City, Middlesbrough and QPR helping his side to collect seven points.

I like the odds of him to score in a fourth consecutive game, especially given he may well line up against a centre-back at right-back in Ryan Porteous, who has been booked in each of his last two appearances, or a 19-year-old in Andrews.

Draw or Hull & BTTS - Yes @ 13/10

Watford haven't won at home for a long time, but they have drawn three of their last four at Vicarage Road, with Cleverley unbeaten there after drawing to Leeds United (2-2) and Preston North End (0-0) in his first two games in charge at the stadium.

Hull won 3-1 at Cardiff in their last away outing but did fail to beat both Leeds (1-3) and Preston (0-0) in their prior two matches away from the MKM.

They need to win on Saturday to ramp up the pressure on Norwich, and while I think they will avoid defeat, I'm not prepared to stick my neck out on a side that has continually disappointed when it's mattered most this season.

The double chance result on Hull provides an insurance option if they do fail to get the job done at Vicarage Road, and you can boost the odds by adding in both teams to score.

Watford have kept three clean sheets under Cleverley but they've also shipped three to Southampton and two each to West Bromwich Albion and Leeds.

Hull shut out QPR last time out but that was their first clean sheet since March 2, going six matches without one thereafter.

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