Watford vs Blackburn Prediction: Will Vicarage Road remain a fortress?

Watford’s home form this season has been exceptionally impressive and after a rough ride on the road of late, Tom Cleverley will be keen to get back to his home comforts. The Hornets' next test comes on Saturday afternoon as they host another side who have struggled on their travels in the form of Blackburn Rovers (12:30, Sky Sports+).

Below you will find my Watford vs Blackburn predictions featuring team news and betting tips.

Team News

After another horror show against Leeds, Cleverley may choose to drop Daniel Bachmann in favour of Jonathan Bond. Bond did well while Bachmann was out injured and given the Austrian’s loss of form at Elland Road, he could well be replaced here. 

Kwadwo Baah received praise from his manager for his midweek performance, as did both wing-backs Yasser Larouci and Festy Ebosele so we can expect them to start again. Tom Ince also did well in midfield while Ryan Porteous could be brought into the back three. Teenager Rocco Vata looks to be a brilliant addition to the squad but has only been given a handful of minutes in recent weeks. 

Football Odds

Josh Eustace is without the services of Blackburn defender Scott Wharton, who is sidelined until the New Year with a cruciate ligament injury. Zak Gilsenan and Harry Leonard also remain out, although the latter is edging closer to making the matchday squad. 

Elsewhere he has plenty of options to choose from, with the talented Todd Cantwell impressing in recent weeks. Along with Ryan Hedges and Tyrhys Dolan the trio should start behind the number nine, which will either be Yuki Ohashi or the more physical Makhtar Gueye. Andreas Weimann is still struggling to break into the XI despite his experience.

Watford vs Blackburn Odds

Watford are priced at 6/4 to win this game, giving them an implied win probability of 40 per cent, with Blackburn available at 9/5. A draw can be backed at 12/5, over 2.5 goals is 8/11 and BTTS is 4/7. Ohashi is the favourite to score first at 6/1. 

Draw @ 12/5

Watford have won four and drawn one of their five matches at Vicarage Road this season, as Cleverley has transformed their home ground into a fortress. Meanwhile, Blackburn are yet to win on the road this season having drawn two and lost three of their away matches, but I do believe they can get something here.

They are two evenly-matched teams who will end up somewhere in lower mid-table in my opinion. That might seem harsh given they have both had positive starts, but I’m not sure either side has the quality to break into the top six this term. Watford meanwhile have looked shaky since Bachmann returned and if he starts, Rovers will fancy their chances. I’m happy to back a draw on this occasion. 

Watford 2-2 Blackburn @ 11/1

Let’s plump for a correct score at big odds here. I think we are going to see a draw at Vicarage Road, while I also feel there will be plenty of goals in this one. Watford have scored 10 goals at home, averaging two every 90 minutes so far, and while Blackburn haven’t been great away from Ewood Park, they have plenty of attacking quality. 

Cantwell is such a creative force, while both Gueye and Ohashi have the ability to score goals at this level. When Dolan is on form he is difficult to stop, so I think we could get plenty of action at both ends this Saturday lunchtime. With a lack of certainty in goal for Watford, I think Rovers will be able to score a couple, so let's go for a 2-2 draw. 

Offers

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