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[monks data]
Sheffield Wednesday logo
Championship | Gameweek 2
Sep 19, 2020 at 3pm UK
Hillsborough Stadium
Watford logo

Sheff Weds
0 - 0
Watford


Luongo (65'), Bannan (68')
FT

Chalobah (81'), Garner (88')

Preview: Sheffield Wednesday vs. Watford - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Championship fixture between Sheffield Wednesday and Watford, including team news and predicted lineups.

Two teams that enjoyed winning starts to the Championship season face off at Hillsborough on Saturday as Sheffield Wednesday play host to Watford.

Wednesday beat Cardiff City 2-0 in their opening fixture to move up to minus nine points in the table, while Watford edged out Middlesbrough 1-0.


Match preview

Sheffield Wednesday manager Garry Monk pictured in January 2020© Reuters

The Owls' victory against Cardiff was a professional away performance, with Garry Monk's men doing well to keep the opposition quiet and taking their own chances when they arrived.

Wednesday now return to Hillsborough, where they have lost their first home league match in only one of their last 12 seasons - against Burnley in 2013-14.

The aim for Monk this season remains slightly unclear, with his side hit with a 12-point deduction before a ball had even been kicked, placing them in relegation trouble.

As their performance showed on the opening weekend, however, the Yorkshire outfit will surely climb out of the dropzone before too long and can then look up the division.

For now, though, it is a classic case of taking it one game at a time for Monk and his players, starting with this visit of a Watford side still adapting to the division.

The Hornets kicked off their first second-tier campaign in five years with a 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough, picking up the points through an early Craig Cathcart header.

Craig Cathcart celebrates scoring for Watford on September 11, 2020© Reuters

It was for from a vintage performance from Watford, but it was a hard-fought win new boss Vladimir Ivic happily accepted after the match.

Watford are now looking to make it back-to-back league victories without conceding since October 2018, and they have a good record in recent trips to this iconic venue.

They have won their last three meetings with Wednesday at Hillsborough in the league, although this is their first such encounter since October 2014.

Both teams were also in action in midweek, with Watford overcoming Oxford United on penalties in the second round of the EFL Cup and Wednesday seeing off Rochdale 2-0.

Something has to give this weekend, though, with one of these sides' 100% starts coming to an end in Yorkshire.

Sheffield Wednesday Championship form: W
Sheffield Wednesday form (all competitions): WWW

Watford Championship form: W
Watford form (all competitions): WW


Team News

Watford captain Troy Deeney reacts as his side are relegated on July 26, 2020© Reuters

Monk has reported no fresh injury concerns on the back of two games in three games, so Wednesday have a full group to choose from for this first home outing of the season.

Striker Jordan Rhodes scored last time out for Wednesday and is looking to net in consecutive league games for them for the first time since November 2017.

Josh Windass, also on target at the Cardiff City Stadium, should get the nod alongside Rhodes in attack, with support offered by Chelsea loanee Izzy Brown.

The picture is a lot different for Monk's opposite number Ivic, who is without a number of players due to injuries and transfer speculation.

Captain Troy Deeney is expected to leave before next month's deadline and will not be picked here, which is also the case for Roberto Pereyra, Ismaila Sarr and Gerard Deulofeu.

As for the injury absentees, Will Hughes and Andre Gray are still on the comeback trail and will play no part at Hillsborough.

Sheffield Wednesday possible starting lineup:
Dawson; Aken, Lees, Iorfa; Harris, Bannan, Luongo, Penney; Brown; Windass, Rhodes

Watford possible starting lineup:
Foster; Cathcart, Kabasele, Wilmot; Ngakia, Chalobah, Cleverley, Femenia; Sema, Quina; Pedro


SM words green background

We say: Sheffield Wednesday 1-2 Watford

Wednesday have won three out of three in all competitions so far this season without conceding, while Watford also boast a 100% record from their two matches to date.

The Owls had one of the division's worst home records last season, winning just one of their last 12 league games at Hillsborough, and for that reason we are tipping the visitors to come out on top on Saturday.


Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a double chance bet on a home win or an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Home/Away:data


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Written by
Daniel Lewis

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Sheffield Wednesday win with a probability of 41.72%. A win for Watford had a probability of 31.68% and a draw had a probability of 26.6%.

The most likely scoreline for a Sheffield Wednesday win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.89%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.69%) and 2-0 (7.48%). The likeliest Watford win was 0-1 (9.21%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.64%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 7.9% likelihood.


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Game History

Who will win Saturday's Championship clash between Sheffield Wednesday and Watford?

Sheffield Wednesday
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Draw
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Watford
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0
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Sheffield Wednesday manager Garry Monk pictured in January 2020
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd22155232112148
2Leeds UnitedLeeds22136341152645
3Burnley2212822891944
4Sunderland22127334181643
5Blackburn RoversBlackburn2111462518737
6Middlesbrough22105738281035
7West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom22811326161035
8Watford2110473028234
9Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds229582830-232
10Millwall217772118328
11Swansea CitySwansea227692424027
12Bristol City226972628-227
13Norwich CityNorwich226883734326
14Queens Park RangersQPR2251072328-525
15Luton TownLuton2274112538-1325
16Derby CountyDerby2266102728-124
17Coventry CityCoventry2266102834-624
18Preston North EndPreston2241172229-723
19Stoke CityStoke2257102330-722
20Portsmouth204882535-1020
21Hull City2247112131-1019
22Cardiff CityCardiff2146111934-1518
23Oxford UnitedOxford Utd2146112137-1618
24Plymouth ArgylePlymouth2146112245-2318


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