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Watford will host Stoke City at Vicarage Road on Saturday in the second round of the 2024-25 EFL Championship campaign. The home side faced Millwall in their league opener last weekend, picking up a 3-2 win.
They looked set to be headed toward a point following second-half strikes from their opponents before Mileta Rajovic headed home a late winner to clinch maximum points for the Hornets.
They then locked horns with MK Dons in the first round of the Carabao Cup last time out, picking up a dominant 5-0 victory featuring goals from three different players including Thomas Ince who netted a brilliant hat-trick.
Stoke City, meanwhile, ended the previous campaign on a three-game winning streak and have picked up where they left off, beating Coventry City 1-0 in their Championship clash last weekend with Lewis Baker coming off the bench to score the game-winner.
The Potters then beat Carlisle United 2-0 in the League Cup earlier in the week, with Freddie Anderson opening the scoring after the restart before 18-year-old Emre Tezgel came off the bench to seal the win.
Watford vs Stoke City Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- There have been 43 meetings between Watford and Stoke. The hosts have won 18 of those games while the visitors have won one fewer.
- There have been eight draws between the two teams, including their most recent matchup, which ended 1-1.
- The visitors are undefeated in their last two games in this fixture after losing four of their previous five.
- Stoke were one of six teams in the English second tier to keep a clean sheet on the opening day.
Watford vs Stoke City Prediction
Watford are on a run of back-to-back victories after winning just one of their five games prior. They are undefeated in their last five games at Vicarage Road and will be hopeful of a positive result here.
Stoke are on a run of back-to-back victories and have won their last four Championship games. They have performed fairly well on the road of late and should pick up a point here.
Prediction: Watford 1-1 Stoke City
Watford vs Stoke City Betting Tips
Tip 1 - Result: Draw
Tip 2 - Goals - Over/under 2.5 - Under 2.5 goals (Three of the last four matches between the two teams have produced fewer than 2.5 goals)
Tip 3 - Both teams to score: YES (Both sides have found the back of the net in four of the hosts' last five matchups)
