Wednesday , 30 September 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 Swansea City AFC 8 17
2 West Ham United FC 8 15
3 Middlesbrough FC 8 15
4 Wolverhampton Wanderers FC 7 14
5 West Bromwich Albion FC 8 14
6 Queens Park Rangers FC 8 13
7 Stoke City FC 8 13
8 Bristol City FC 8 13
9 Charlton Athletic FC 8 12
10 Birmingham City FC 8 11
11 Millwall FC 8 11
12 Lincoln City FC 8 11
13 Southampton FC 8 10
14 Wrexham AFC 8 10
15 Bolton Wanderers FC 8 10
16 Blackburn Rovers FC 8 9
17 Norwich City FC 8 9
18 Sheffield United FC 8 9
19 Portsmouth FC 7 8
20 Watford FC 8 8
21 Cardiff City FC 8 7
22 Derby County FC 8 5
23 Preston North End FC 8 4
24 Burnley FC 8 4

Head-to-Head

2
5
4
Preston North End FC 11 games · Avg 2.5 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
#23 Position #20
4 Points 8
8 Played 8
1 / 1 / 6 W / D / L 2 / 2 / 4
8 Scored 7
15 Conceded 10
-7 GD -3
0.50 PPG 1.00
13% Win % 25%

Key Stats

55% Both Teams to Score
H2H (11 games)
55% Over 2.5 Goals
H2H history
0% Clean Sheets
Preston North End FC this season
0% Clean Sheets
Watford FC this season

Preston North End FC are 23rd (4 pts). Watford FC are 20th (8 pts).

Goal Timing (This Season)

Preston North End FC
0-15
3/3
16-30
2/1
31-45
–/–
46-60
1/1
61-75
–/3
76+
2/6
■ Scored ■ Conceded
Watford FC
0-15
2/2
16-30
2/2
31-45
–/3
46-60
–/2
61-75
1/–
76+
2/–
■ Scored ■ Conceded

Top Scorers (This Season)

Preston North End FC
Callum Lang 3 G
Jordan Thompson 1 G
Jusef Erabi 1 G
Watford FC
Amin Nabizada 3 G
Iker Bravo 1 G
Luca Kjerrumgaard 1 G

Events

Match Events

  • 0' That's the starting whistle at Deepdale. Ninety minutes of football awaits between Preston North End FC and Watford FC.
  • 5' It looks like no one’s ball. Preston North End FC is used to counterattacking playing. None of the sides are ready to take the lead.
  • 10' Preston North End FC are deployed in a 3-4-1-2 today, looking to exploit space against Watford FC's 4-1-4-1 shape.
  • 15' England international Rhys Healey has been a key figure this campaign — 0 goals and 0 assists in the Array this season.
  • 20' Supporters expect more eagerness from Alan Browne, as he is very good at scoring at Deepdale with 10 goals in the last 8 games.
  • 25' Not even hints on scoring a goal over the last 25 minutes.
  • 27' Against the run of play, Will Keane has scored! This game has turned on its head.
  • 32' Watford FC are keeping things exceptionally tight at the back. It will take something special to break them down.
  • 37' The referee has had an easy afternoon — neither side has been overly physical in the tackle.
  • 41' The referee shows Preston North End FC player a Yellow card on 41.
  • 42' Magnificent from Vakoun Issouf Bayo! That is 48 goals in 11 appearances — and it could not have come at a better time.
  • 45' Poor challenge from Ben Whiteman. The referee spots it immediately and shows the Yellow card.
  • 46' Against the run of play, Matheus Martins has scored! This game has turned on its head.
  • 51' Spectators do not have much to choose from both teams. The sides had several scoring chances but they still need a bit more than just a sight of a goal.
  • 53' Magnificent from Edo Kayembe! That is 17 goals in 395 appearances — and it could not have come at a better time.
  • 58' The crowd applauds Brad Potts as he leaves the pitch. Andrew Hughes steps in for Preston North End FC.
  • 59' Fresh legs for Preston North End FC! Ched Evans comes on to replace Will Keane.
  • 64' Watford FC started playing very sharply right from the kick off. However, it slowed down the tempo rapidly by 64.
  • 67' Matthew Pollock is ready to make an impact after coming on for Matheus Martins at the 67 minute mark.
  • 68' A change in the Watford FC ranks — Ken Sema exits the field as Mileta Rajovic enters on 68.
  • 71' Vakoun Issouf Bayo makes no mistake. The score reads 1-4 and Watford FC are in front.
  • 76' Preston North End FC seems to be on a short break. The game is mainly concentrated in the center. It’s high time they got back to action. Otherwise, it looks like a goalless game.
  • 77' Ismael Kone is having a superb {COMPETITION} campaign — that is 0 goals this season for the midfielder.
  • 80' Vakoun Issouf Bayo makes way for Rhys Healey at the 80 minute mark. A tactical switch from Watford FC.
  • 82' The crowd applauds Ismael Kone as he leaves the pitch. Giorgi Chakvetadze steps in for Watford FC.
  • 85' A moment of madness from Jamal Lewis on 85 minutes earns him a Yellow card. Watford FC will be frustrated.
  • 90' The referee does not hesitate — a Yellow card for Milutin Osmajic on 90 minutes.
  • It finishes all square. Preston North End FC and Watford FC share the spoils 1-5.

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
Joao Pedro 2
Edo Kayembe 2
Vakoun Issouf Bayo 2
Nathaniel Chalobah 1
Rocco Vata 1
Troy Deeney 1
Callum Lang 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
3 / 4
0.88 Preston North End FC xG
Expected Goals
Dixon-Coles · Bivariate Poisson · Neg. Binomial · Elo
1.96 Watford FC xG
I would bet for: Watford FC to win 56%

Match Result

✓ Correct
Preston North End FC20% Draw25% Watford FC55%
Actual: Watford FC win

Both Teams to Score

✓ Correct
Yes51% 0% No49%
Avg goals/match: 2.84
Actual: Yes — both scored

Over / Under Goals

✓ O/U 2.5
Line Over Under
± 0.5 92%
8%
± 1.5 77%
23%
± 2.5 53%
47%
± 3.5 32%
68%
± 4.5 16%
84%

Double Chance

Preston North End FC or Draw
44%
Draw or Watford FC
80%
Preston North End FC or Watford FC
75%

Half-Time Result

✗ Wrong
Preston North End FC13% Draw43% Watford FC44%
Actual: Draw at HT

Correct Score

✗ 1–5 not predicted
1 – 5
Actual
0 – 2
11%
1 – 1
10.9%
0 – 1
10.8%
1 – 2
9.5%
0 – 0
7.6%
0 – 3
7%
1 – 3
6.3%
1 – 0
4.3%
2 – 1
4.3%
2 – 2
4.2%
0 – 4
3.5%
1 – 4
3.1%

Asian Handicap — Preston North End FC

Handicap Preston North End FC covers Push Watford FC covers
-2.5 1% — 99%
-2 1% 4% 95%
-1.5 5% — 95%
-1 5% 10% 85%
-0.5 15% — 85%
+0.5 39% — 61%
+1 39% 24% 38%
+1.5 62% — 38%
+2 62% 19% 19%
+2.5 81% — 19%

Clean Sheet

Preston North End FC keeps clean sheet
15% ✓
Watford FC keeps clean sheet
42% ✓

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