Blackburn Rovers travel to North West London to face Watford on Wednesday night, as they attempt to close the gap on the Championship's playoff pack.

Rovers conceded late on Saturday, going down 1-0 to Chris Hughton's Nottingham Forest, while a fine strike from Joao Pedro was enough for Watford to see off Derby County.

Match preview

Watford's Joao Pedro celebrates with teammates after scoring against Derby County on October 16, 2020 © Reuters

Saturday saw Watford secure their second win of the season - and their first since the opening day - to compound the pressure on Derby manager Phillip Cocu.

The Hornets have had a good start to the season, including wins over Middlesbrough, Luton Town and Derby, tainted only by defeat away to in-form Reading.

Now that the transfer window has closed, Vladimir Ivic will be pleased that he has managed to hold on to key players such as Ismaila Sarr and Troy Deeney - individual talents that are sure to contribute huge amounts to Watford's promotion chase.

Another key factor to winning promotion will be their defensive form, and Watford have the joint-best record to date, being one of two teams to have only conceded one goal so far this season.

Blackburn Rovers manager Tony Mowbray pictured on October 17, 2020 © Reuters

Tony Mowbray's Blackburn side fell to Forest on the weekend having conceded a deflected goal late on, despite having controlled large periods of the game.

Regardless of the defeat to Chris Hughton's men, Rovers will see this game as an opportunity to draw level with Watford in the league and firmly position themselves in the top half of the table.

Blackburn fans will also be encouraged by new signings, and in particular young Harvey Elliott, who did not look out of place turning out for Premier League champions Liverpool last term.

On the other flank, Blackburn will threaten by way of new signing Barry Douglas, who signed late last week from Leeds United.

Watford Championship form: WDWLW
Watford form (all competitions): WDLWLW

Blackburn Rovers Championship form: LWWDL
Blackburn Rovers form (all competitions): LLWWDL

Team News

Lewis Holtby in action for Blackburn Rovers on January 18, 2020 © Reuters

Mowbray may look to introduce news signings Elliot and Douglas, but will be conscious of disrupting any team rhythm and could opt to stagger their first-team minutes over the coming weeks.

Lewis Holtby is expected to return for Blackburn after returning to Germany for the birth of his first child.

Watford could welcome back Will Hughes to the starting lineup after it was reported that he has shown strong progress in training.

Otherwise, Watford could be unchanged as they look to keep the pressure on the league leaders.

Watford possible starting lineup:
Foster; Cathcart, Kabasele, Wilmot; Ngakia, Garner, Capoue, Cleverley, Femenia; Pedro, Sarr

Blackburn Rovers possible starting lineup:
Kaminski; Nyambe, Lenihan, Ayala, Bell; Johnson, Holtby, Rothwell; Dolan, Armstrong, Brereton

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We say: Watford 2-0 Blackburn Rovers

Watford appear to be hitting their straps of late, and as many of their first team return to full fitness, we see this fixture as a tall order for Mowbray's Blackburn side. We expect Watford's quality to shine through in a convincing home win.

Top betting tip

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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 Watford win with a probability of 45.48%. A win for Blackburn Rovers had a probability of 29.72% and a draw had a probability of 24.8%.

The most likely scoreline for a Watford win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.52%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.24%) and 2-0 (7.52%). The likeliest Blackburn Rovers win was 0-1 (7.41%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.7%). The actual scoreline of 3-1 was predicted with a 4.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Watford would win this match.