- Watford have taken five points from their first four Championship 2026/2027 games, sitting 14th in the table, while Preston North End have taken none, putting them 24th after four matches.
- Watford are unbeaten after two Championship 2026/2027 home games (W1, D1), conceding just twice in two matches. Preston North End have lost both of their Championship 2026/2027 away games and are yet to pick up a point on the road.
- Amin Nabizada top scores for Watford in the Championship 2026/2027 (2 goals in 4 games), while Caleb Wiley is on 1 goal in 2 games for Preston North End.
Wise to back the home side in this one
Watford are priced up at 99/100, and that seems about right ahead of this Tuesday's Championship 2026-2027 fixture against Preston North End, who are available at 63/25. However, the draw at 49/20 seems a bit short in this instance, considering the Lilywhites are winless in five in all competitions and the Hornets have taken five points from four matches.
Alessio Dionisi, who was appointed head coach of Watford on 15 June 2026, is clearly beginning to stamp his authority on a team that looks to have been carefully constructed to suit his structured, yet fluid, positional system.
While they could have pushed to make a more emphatic start to the season, the fact that Watford have posted 1 win, 2 draws and 2 defeats in their last five games hardly counts as a slump. Dionisi's pressing philosophy is clearly paying off as the Hornets are winning the ball back more often and using the transitional moments to spring traps in the opponent's half.
Watford's 1-1 draw with West Ham at home and 2-0 defeat at Swansea City hardly reads as an outstanding start to the Championship 2026/2027 campaign, but it is far from disastrous.
Watford to edge a close contest
North End boss Paul Heckingbottom, who took the reins on 20 August 2024, appears to have constructed a team that operates from the top down. Control, discipline and pragmatism are likely to be the watchwords of the Lilywhites, but Preston have hit a sticky patch and their last three results do not suggest they are about to escape their current crisis.
Preston lost 4-0 at home to Everton in the EFL Cup 2026/2027, 1-0 to Charlton Athletic away in the Championship 2026/2027 and 1-3 to Bristol City at home. This looks like it could be a grind, but Preston will struggle to get out of their current rut if Watford win the pressing game and create turnovers in the middle third.
Amin Nabizada has the sharpness to break the deadlock against a Preston block, while Andrija Vukcevic, who has 1 assist in 3 Championship 2026/2027 games, will attempt to make things happen from deep for the visitors.
The head-to-head record favours Preston North End, with 2 wins and 3 draws from the last five meetings, but Watford are without a win in their last 3 home games against the Lilywhites.
This could easily finish 2-2 as it did at Preston in this Championship fixture last season, but Watford's form and home solidity, combined with Preston's away woes, means we're going to favour the home team here.
