Thursday , 2 July 2026

Preston North End FC vs Watford FC, Championship 2023-24 REGULAR SEASON

Championship · 2023-24
Preston North End FC
1 – 5
Full Time
Watford FC
Sat 16 Dec 2023 · 15:00 UTC Deepdale HT 45' · FT 45'
Will Keane 27' 1–0
1–1 42' Vakoun Issouf Bayo
1–2 46' Matheus Martins
1–3 53' Edo Kayembe
1–4 71' Vakoun Issouf Bayo
1–5 77' Ismael Kone
Liam Millar 41' Y
Ben Whiteman 45' Y
Y 85' Jamal Lewis
Milutin Osmajic 90' Y

Overview

Match Preview

Preston North End FC vs Watford FC — Championship at Deepdale.

Match Details

  • Referee
  • Assistant 1
  • Assistant 2 Jonathan Hunt

Standings

# Team P Pts
1 Coventry City FC 46 95
2 Ipswich Town FC 46 84
3 Millwall FC 46 83
4 Southampton FC 46 80
5 Middlesbrough FC 46 80
6 Hull City AFC 46 73
7 Wrexham AFC 46 71
8 Derby County FC 46 69
9 Norwich City FC 46 65
10 Birmingham City FC 46 64
11 Swansea City AFC 46 64
12 Bristol City FC 46 62
13 Sheffield United FC 46 60
14 Preston North End FC 46 60
15 Queens Park Rangers FC 46 58
16 Watford FC 46 57
17 Stoke City FC 46 55
18 Portsmouth FC 46 55
19 Charlton Athletic FC 46 53
20 Blackburn Rovers FC 46 52
21 West Bromwich Albion FC 46 51
22 Oxford United FC 46 47
23 Leicester City FC 46 46
24 Sheffield Wednesday FC 46 0

Head-to-Head

2
5
3
Preston North End FC 10 games · Avg 2.4 goals Watford FC
Last 5 meetings
2023-12-16 Preston North End FC 1–5 Watford FC 2023-03-04 Watford FC 0–0 Preston North End FC 2022-08-20 Preston North End FC 0–0 Watford FC 2021-02-16 Preston North End FC 0–1 Watford FC 2020-11-28 Watford FC 4–1 Preston North End FC

Recent Form

Preston North End FC
DateOpponentH/A ScoreResult
16 Dec Watford FC H 1–5 L
12 Dec Huddersfield Town AFC A 3–1 W
09 Dec Norwich City FC A 0–0 D
01 Dec Queens Park Rangers FC H 0–2 L
28 Nov Middlesbrough FC A 0–4 L
25 Nov Cardiff City FC H 1–2 L
Watford FC
DateOpponentH/A ScoreResult
16 Dec Preston North End FC A 5–1 W
12 Dec Ipswich Town FC H 1–2 L
09 Dec Southampton FC H 1–1 D
02 Dec Hull City AFC A 2–1 W
28 Nov Norwich City FC H 3–2 W
25 Nov Leicester City FC A 0–2 L

Season Stats

Preston North End FC Watford FC
#14 Position #16
60 Points 57
46 Played 46
15 / 15 / 16 W / D / L 14 / 15 / 17
55 Scored 53
62 Conceded 65
-7 GD -12
1.30 PPG 1.24
33% Win % 30%

Key Stats

50% Both Teams to Score
H2H (10 games)
50% Over 2.5 Goals
H2H history

Preston North End FC are 14th (60 pts). Watford FC are 16th (57 pts).

Events

Match Events

  • 0' The match kicks off with home fans waiting with anticipation for Preston North End FC to score. At the same time, Watford FC does not seem to pull back! Let’s get it on!
  • 5' While there is no rush on the pitch, let’s have a look at some stats. Mileta Rajovic made 358 appearances and scored 12 goals. He is very likely to score a goal today.
  • 10' The tempo has dropped considerably in the last few minutes. Valerien Ismael will be considering his options from the bench.
  • 15' Preston North End FC are happy to let the opposition have the ball in their own half. The trap is set.
  • 20' The 31-year-old Rhys Healey has been sensational this season — 0 goals and 0 assists is a remarkable return.
  • 25' We are waiting for someone to take the initiative. Who will be the first to commit to attack?
  • 27' Against the run of play, Will Keane has scored! This game has turned on its head.
  • 32' The travelling Watford FC supporters hardly appreciate their team being pressed down to the backline.
  • 37' Matchday of the Array and both teams know exactly what is at stake tonight.
  • 41' Liam Millar catches the referee's attention in entirely the wrong way. Yellow card on 41.
  • 42' Vakoun Issouf Bayo does the damage! The net is bulging and Watford FC surge ahead!
  • 45' The referee reaches into his pocket. Out comes the Yellow card for Ben Whiteman.
  • 46' Matheus Martins doubles the advantage! 1-2 and this game is slipping away from the opposition.
  • 51' Spectators are craving for more action. Both teams play very cautiously. They need to put some more energy.
  • 53' Edo Kayembe is having a superb {COMPETITION} campaign — that is 0 goals this season for the .
  • 58' Preston North End FC ring the changes. Brad Potts has done his job and it is now time for Andrew Hughes to step up.
  • 59' Preston North End FC ring the changes. Will Keane has done his job and it is now time for Ched Evans to step up.
  • 64' Although teams showed high tempo form the start, they seem to slow down a bit. Both sides really need to catch a fire. Otherwise, we have another goalless match.
  • 67' It is a substitution in Watford FC team. Matheus Martins is replaced by Matthew Pollock on 67 minute.
  • 68' Mileta Rajovic has so much to prove this time. He replaces Ken Sema on 68 minute.
  • 71' A stunning finish from Vakoun Issouf Bayo — that came from absolutely nowhere!
  • 76' Ken Sema needs to be pretty careful with his discipline considering 0 Red cards this season.
  • 77' A stunning finish from Ismael Kone — that came from absolutely nowhere!
  • 80' Rhys Healey is replacing Vakoun Issouf Bayo for the Watford FC side.
  • 82' Giorgi Chakvetadze is replacing Ismael Kone for the Watford FC side.
  • 85' Jamal Lewis picks up a Yellow card and will need to be extremely careful for the remainder of this match.
  • 90' Poor challenge from Milutin Osmajic. The referee spots it immediately and shows the Yellow card.
  • With this win, Watford FC is likely to improve its situation in the overall team standings.

Lineups

Preston North End FC Lineups

3-4-1-2

Starting XI

Bench

Coach Ryan Lowe

Watford FC Lineups

4-1-4-1

Starting XI

Bench

Coach Valerien Ismael

H2H

H2H Top Scorers

PlayerGoals
Milutin Osmajic 4
Vakoun Issouf Bayo 2
Joao Pedro 2
Matheus Martins 1
Ismael Kone 1
Alistair McCann 1
Tom Barkhuizen 1
Nathaniel Chalobah 1

Head to Head

2023-12-16 Preston North End FC 1–5 Watford FC 2023-03-04 Watford FC 0–0 Preston North End FC 2022-08-20 Preston North End FC 0–0 Watford FC 2021-02-16 Preston North End FC 0–1 Watford FC 2020-11-28 Watford FC 4–1 Preston North End FC

Preston North End FC Form

2023-12-16 Preston North End FC 1–5 Watford FC L 2023-12-12 Huddersfield Town AFC 1–3 Preston North End FC W 2023-12-09 Norwich City FC 0–0 Preston North End FC D 2023-12-01 Preston North End FC 0–2 Queens Park Rangers FC L 2023-11-28 Middlesbrough FC 4–0 Preston North End FC L 2023-11-25 Preston North End FC 1–2 Cardiff City FC L

Watford FC Form

2023-12-16 Preston North End FC 1–5 Watford FC W 2023-12-12 Watford FC 1–2 Ipswich Town FC L 2023-12-09 Watford FC 1–1 Southampton FC D 2023-12-02 Hull City AFC 1–2 Watford FC W 2023-11-28 Watford FC 3–2 Norwich City FC W 2023-11-25 Leicester City FC 2–0 Watford FC L

Predictions

Prediction accuracy
4 / 4
1.13 Preston North End FC xG
Expected Goals
Dixon-Coles · Bivariate Poisson · Neg. Binomial · Elo
2 Watford FC xG
I would bet for: Over 2.5 goals 60% + Both teams to score 59%

Match Result

✓ Correct
Preston North End FC23% Draw25% Watford FC52%
Actual: Watford FC win

Both Teams to Score

✓ Correct
Yes59% 0% No41%
Avg goals/match: 3.13
Actual: Yes — both scored

Over / Under Goals

✓ O/U 2.5
Line Over Under
± 0.5 94%
6%
± 1.5 82%
18%
± 2.5 60%
40%
± 3.5 38%
62%
± 4.5 21%
79%

Double Chance

Preston North End FC or Draw
48%
Draw or Watford FC
77%
Preston North End FC or Watford FC
75%

Half-Time Result

✓ Correct
Preston North End FC17% Draw42% Watford FC41%
Actual: Draw at HT

Correct Score

✗ 1–5 not predicted
1 – 5
Actual
1 – 1
10.7%
1 – 2
9.5%
0 – 2
8.6%
0 – 1
8.1%
1 – 3
6.3%
0 – 0
6%
0 – 3
5.6%
2 – 1
5.4%
2 – 2
5.4%
1 – 0
4.2%
2 – 3
3.6%
1 – 4
3.2%

Asian Handicap — Preston North End FC

Handicap Preston North End FC covers Push Watford FC covers
-2.5 2% — 98%
-2 2% 6% 92%
-1.5 8% — 92%
-1 8% 12% 80%
-0.5 20% — 80%
+0.5 44% — 56%
+1 44% 22% 34%
+1.5 66% — 34%
+2 66% 17% 17%
+2.5 83% — 17%

Clean Sheet

Preston North End FC keeps clean sheet
14% ✓
Watford FC keeps clean sheet
33% ✓

Predictions are statistical estimates based on season form, H2H history, and a Poisson model. Not financial advice.