The fourth gameweek of the 2022/23 SkyBet Championship season brings us a clash between Birmingham City and Watford.
Watford won a battle of relegated Premier League teams by edging out Burnley in the Championship’s Friday night game. Tom Cleverley’s goal at the end of the first half was enough to secure a 1-0 victory, giving new manager Rob Edwards his second home victory in two attempts.
Meanwhile, Birmingham City were quieted a little at St Andrew’s after they came through their first two games of the new season with four points, but Birmingham could not maintain the positive momentum for their weekend trip to the Welsh capital.
John Eustace’s side fell behind early against Cardiff City thanks to a goal from Aston Villa loanee Jaden Philogene-Bidace, and they were fortunate not to lose by a larger margin than the final 1-0 scoreline.
Birmingham vs Watford: Match Details
| Match | Birmingham City vs Watford |
| Date | 17th August 2022 |
| Time | 12:15 am |
| Venue | St. Andrew’s, Birmingham |
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Birmingham vs Watford: Broadcast Details
SkyBet Championship matches are streamed on Viacom18’s channels, like JioTV, Colours Infinity and Voot.
Birmingham vs Watford: Team Betting Odds
Bookies are putting odds of 3.60 of a Birmingham City win at their home ground on Tuesday.
Birmingham vs Watford: Head-to-Head Stats
In their last 5 meetings, Watford have won three times while Birmingham have won the other two, with their latest meeting being a 1-0 away win to Watford in the same fixture in the 2020/21 Championship season.
Birmingham vs Watford: Players to Watch Out
Ismaila Sarr
The Senegalese winger has been Watford’s standout performer since his arrival from Rennes in the 2019 summer transfer window. Unless he departs from the club before the window shuts, he has the potential to be one of the best players in the league.
Troy Deeney
Troy Deeney has over 350 appearances and 150 goals for his opponents, Watford. He left the club in 2021 to join boyhood club Birmingham, but has been struggling with game time at the Blues, only managing to appear in 24 games, scoring 4 goals. But he has been made captain this season, and will try his best to make the Hornets walk away with nothing from St. Andrew’s.
Daniel Bachmann
The Austrian goalkeeper has been with the club since 2017, but is only getting a chance between the sticks now. He will be looking to impress Rob Edwards into handing him the permanent goalkeeping position for the Hornets.
Birmingham vs Watford: Predicted Line-Ups
Birmingham XI: Ruddy; Sanderson, Roberts, Trusty; Colin, James, Chang, Bacuna, Placheta; Hogan, Deeney
Watford XI: Bachmann; Gaspar, Cathcart, Sierralta, Sema; Kayembe, Choudhury; Sarr, Cleverley, Pedro; Davis
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Birmingham vs Watford: Team News
Watford manager Rob Edwards faces a number of absences on Tuesday, including Hassane Kamara, who is suspended following his red card on Friday, as well as two players who have left the club and others who are injured.
Long-term knee injuries keep midfielders Tom Dele-Bashiru and Imran Louza out, and Nigerian forward Samuel Kalu will not return from a hamstring injury until next month. His countryman Emmanuel Dennis has signed for Nottingham Forest for £20 million, and centre-back Samir has recently joined Tigres UANL.
Nonetheless, Keinan Davis, on loan from Birmingham’s archrivals Aston Villa, and former Barcelona striker Rey Manaj provide competition for Joao Pedro up front, and Hamza Choudhury, who impressed on debut against Burnley, should start in midfield.
Meanwhile, Birmingham manager John Eustace only made one change to his starting lineup last time out, replacing Ryan Woods with teenager Alfie Chang, and he is likely to keep most of his starting XI despite defeat to Cardiff.
The hosts should start John Ruddy in goal, with Chang, Juninho Bacuna, and Jordan James in midfield, and captain Troy Deeney and Scott Hogan up front.
Birmingham vs Watford: Match Predictions
Birmingham have been resolute so far, conceding only two goals in three league games, but they may not be able to hold out against a well-stocked Watford attack on Tuesday. The visitors’ abundance of options up front will tip the result in their favour. We predict a 2-1 win for the Hornets over the Blues.
