MX23RW : Thursday, October 31 22:53:32| >> :120:42393:42393:
[monks data]
Swansea logo
Championship | Gameweek 23
Jan 2, 2021 at 3pm UK
Liberty Stadium
Watford logo

Swansea
2 - 1
Watford

Lowe (43', 67')
Guehi (21'), Bidwell (33'), Grimes (45+1')
FT(HT: 1-1)
Cleverley (20')
Chalobah (42'), Masina (90')

Preview: Swansea City vs. Watford - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Championship clash between Swansea City and Watford, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Automatic promotion contenders Swansea City and Watford meet at the Liberty Stadium in arguably the pick of Saturday's Championship fixtures.

Third-place Swansea were held at home to Reading last time out but enter this game three points better off than Watford, who are down in fifth.


Match preview

Andre Ayew celebrates scoring for Swansea City against Queens Park Rangers on December 26, 2020© Reuters

After drawing with Brentford and losing to Huddersfield Town, Watford picked up a much-needed victory at home to leaders Norwich City on Boxing Day.

Ismaila Sarr scored the only goal of the game shortly before half time to make it a winning start for new head coach Xisco Munoz.

Watford's game with Millwall three days later was postponed due to a coronavirus outbreak in their opponents' camp, meaning that they should be well rested for this game.

More rested than Swansea, at least, given that the Welsh side were in action on Wednesday evening when playing out that aforementioned stalemate with the Royals.

Steve Cooper's men played some good football but could not find a way past opposition keeper Rafael Cabral, with Andre Ayew coming closest to doing so.

Ismaila Sarr celebrates scoring for Watford against Norwich City in the Championship on December 26, 2020© Reuters

Swansea are back at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday and will be looking to make it three wins in four either side of that goalless draw.

City have have a good record when it comes to their opening Championship fixture of a new year, winning on each of the last five occasions.

However, Watford have lost only one of their last five league visits to Swansea - that coming in January 2016 when the sides were competing for Premier League points.

This will be the first meeting between the pair since 2017-18, the sides taking it in turns to win their home fixture 2-1 that season, again in the top tier.

Swansea City Championship form: DWLWWD

Watford Championship form: LWWDLW


Team News

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

Swansea defender Ryan Bennett sustained a hamstring injury against Reading and is expected to spend a spell on the sidelines.

That opens a spot for Joel Latibeaudiere to make just his second league start of the campaign, with Marc Guehi and Ben Cabango also expected to get the nod.

Changes for Swansea are otherwise unlikely, even accounting for the quick turnaround in matches.

As for Watford, they begin life without Etienne Capoue after the midfielder was sold to Villarreal on Wednesday.

Nathaniel Chalobah and Will Hughes are the two most likely options to replace Capoue for this trip to South Wales.

Captain Troy Deeney is in line to start up top and will be looking to build on a return of six goal involvements in his last seven league appearances, netting in three of his last four games.

Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Woodman; Cabango, Latibeaudiere, Guehi; Roberts, Smith, Fulton, Grimes, Bidwell; Lowe, Ayew

Watford possible starting lineup:
Foster; Femenia, Sierralta, Wilmot, Masina; Sarr, Chalobah, Cleverley, Sema; Deeney, Gray


SM words green background

We say: Swansea City 2-1 Watford

This is a huge match at the top end of the Championship between two sides targeting automatic promotion.

Swansea are unbeaten in eight league matches at the Liberty Stadium, while Watford have won only one won of their last seven on their travels, so we are backing the Swans to prevail.


Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals 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.Over 1.5:data



ID:428707:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect6958:

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 Swansea City win with a probability of 36.32%. A win for Watford had a probability of 33.26% and a draw had a probability of 30.4%.

The most likely scoreline for a Swansea City win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.6%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (7.16%) and 2-1 (7.11%). The likeliest Watford win was 0-1 (12.84%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.51%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 7.1% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Swansea City would win this match.


Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Game History

How you voted: Swansea vs Watford

Swansea City
58.6%
Draw
15.7%
Watford
25.7%
70
Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Ismaila Sarr celebrates scoring for Watford against Norwich City in the Championship on December 26, 2020
Read Next:
Xisco Munoz delighted to get Watford reign off to a flying start
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free daily transfer newsletter! Sent twice a day during the transfer window.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Sunderland129122391428
2Burnley126511751223
3Leeds UnitedLeeds126511981123
4Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd12732146822
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom12552137620
6Blackburn RoversBlackburn125431612419
7Watford126151619-319
8Norwich CityNorwich124622216618
9Middlesbrough125341412218
10Millwall124441512316
11Bristol City123721416-216
12Derby CountyDerby124351515015
13Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds124351318-515
14Oxford UnitedOxford Utd123541515014
15Hull City123541416-214
16Preston North EndPreston123541317-414
17Swansea CitySwansea1234588013
18Coventry CityCoventry123361417-312
19Stoke CityStoke123361317-412
20Cardiff CityCardiff123361118-712
21Plymouth ArgylePlymouth123361322-912
22Luton TownLuton123271420-611
23Queens Park RangersQPR121651119-89
24Portsmouth121561225-138


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!