Sunday , 16 August 2026

Watford FC vs Blackburn Rovers FC, Championship 2023-24 REGULAR SEASON

Championship · 2023-24
Watford FC
0 – 1
Full Time
Blackburn Rovers FC
Sun 27 Aug 2023 · 11:00 UTC Vicarage Road 17,810 HT 45' · FT 45'
0–1 72' Ryan Hedges
Wesley Hoedt 24' Y
Y 63' Dominic Hyam
Imran Louza 69' Y
Ryan Andrews 69' Y
Y 77' Joe Rankin-Costello

Overview

Match Preview

Watford FC vs Blackburn Rovers FC — Championship at Vicarage Road.

Match Details

  • Referee Gavin Ward
  • Assistant 1 Gregory Read (England)
  • Assistant 2 Alex James (England)
3 games this season 🟨 0.0/game ⚽ 3.3 goals/game

Standings

# Team P Pts
1 Coventry City FC 46 95
2 Ipswich Town FC 46 84
3 Hull City AFC 46 73
4 Oxford United FC 46 47
5 Leicester City FC 46 46
6 Blackburn Rovers FC 1 1
7 Wolverhampton Wanderers FC 1 1
8 Queens Park Rangers FC 0 0
9 Millwall FC 0 0
10 Middlesbrough FC 0 0
11 Swansea City AFC 0 0
12 Charlton Athletic FC 0 0
13 West Bromwich Albion FC 0 0
14 Bolton Wanderers FC 0 0
15 Birmingham City FC 0 0
16 Sheffield United FC 0 0
17 Southampton FC 0 0
18 Wrexham AFC 0 0
19 Watford FC 0 0
20 Burnley FC 0 0
21 Cardiff City FC 0 0
22 West Ham United FC 0 0
23 Derby County FC 0 0
24 Norwich City FC 0 0
25 Preston North End FC 0 0
26 Stoke City FC 0 0
27 Lincoln City FC 0 0
28 Portsmouth FC 0 0
29 Bristol City FC 0 0
30 Sheffield Wednesday FC 46 0

Head-to-Head

4
2
4
Watford FC 10 games · Avg 2.4 goals Blackburn Rovers FC
Last 5 meetings
2023-08-27 Watford FC 0–1 Blackburn Rovers FC 2023-02-11 Watford FC 1–1 Blackburn Rovers FC 2022-09-13 Blackburn Rovers FC 2–0 Watford FC 2021-02-24 Blackburn Rovers FC 2–3 Watford FC 2020-10-21 Watford FC 3–1 Blackburn Rovers FC

Recent Form

Watford FC
DateOpponentH/A ScoreResult
27 Aug Blackburn Rovers FC H 0–1 L
19 Aug Stoke City FC A 0–1 L
12 Aug Plymouth Argyle FC H 0–0 D
05 Aug Queens Park Rangers FC H 4–0 W
08 May Stoke City FC H 2–0 W
29 Apr Sunderland AFC A 2–2 D
Blackburn Rovers FC
DateOpponentH/A ScoreResult
27 Aug Watford FC A 1–0 W
19 Aug Hull City AFC H 1–2 L
12 Aug Rotherham United FC A 2–2 D
05 Aug West Bromwich Albion FC H 2–1 W
08 May Millwall FC A 4–3 W
01 May Luton Town FC H 1–1 D

Season Stats

Watford FC Blackburn Rovers FC
#19 Position #6
0 Points 1
0 Played 1
0 / 0 / 0 W / D / L 0 / 1 / 0
0 Scored 2
0 Conceded 2
+0 GD +0
– PPG 1.00
– Win % 0%

Key Stats

60% Both Teams to Score
H2H (10 games)
40% Over 2.5 Goals
H2H history
0% Clean Sheets
Blackburn Rovers FC this season

Watford FC are 19th (0 pts). Blackburn Rovers FC are 6th (1 pts).

Goal Timing (This Season)

Blackburn Rovers FC
0-15
–/–
16-30
1/1
31-45
–/–
46-60
1/–
61-75
–/–
76+
–/1
■ Scored ■ Conceded

Events

Match Events

  • 0' Watford FC have kicked off against Blackburn Rovers FC. Both sides are eager to make an early statement.
  • 5' Spectators are craving for more action. Both teams play very cautiously. They need to put some more energy.
  • 10' Watford FC are keeping things exceptionally tight at the back. It will take something special to break them down.
  • 15' It looks surprising Watford FC does not make any changes. Ismael Kone has some obvious troubles when approaching to the goal.
  • 20' The teams are not in a rush to score plenty of goals. It might look strange considering Watford FC that had 358 games and scored 391 goals.
  • 24' It’s gonna be a Yellow card for Wesley Hoedt.
  • 29' The referee is likely to let players tackle, as he already missed some meaty challenges during opening seconds. He is still to establish what should not be done by the players and what is acceptable on the pitch. It’s going to be a tough game for Andrew Moran suffering a number of foals already.
  • 34' Blackburn Rovers FC fans have not had much to celebrate tonight. Their side is struggling to get forward.
  • 39' We miss some good tackles and strikes. Is there anyone on the field to put the game back to action?
  • 44' Ryan Porteous has certainly something to prove this evening. He made 1 appearances with only 1 goals this season.
  • 46' The crowd applauds Ismael Kone as he leaves the pitch. Imran Louza steps in for Watford FC.
  • 51' A quiet spell here at Vicarage Road. Watford FC seem content sitting deep and soaking up pressure.
  • 55' A change in the Watford FC ranks — Tom Dele-Bashiru exits the field as Giorgi Chakvetadze enters on 55.
  • 56' Mileta Rajovic gets the nod from Watford FC. He replaces Vakoun Bayo and will look to change the dynamic.
  • 57' It is a substitution in Blackburn Rovers FC team. Tyrhys Dolan is replaced by Andrew Moran on 57 minute.
  • 62' Watford FC currently sit in the Array table. A result here could be decisive in the race for the top positions.
  • 63' Blackburn Rovers FC receives a Yellow card for a hard tackle on 63.
  • 64' Dominic Hyam catches the referee's attention in entirely the wrong way. Yellow card on 64.
  • 69' Watford FC player sees a Yellow card in front of him.
  • 72' GOAL! Ryan Hedges scores on 72.
  • 73' The whistle greets Yaser Asprilla as he departs to be replaced by Tom Ince.
  • 77' It’s gonna be a Yellow card for Joe Rankin-Costello.
  • 77' Another substitution for Blackburn Rovers FC to replace Joe Rankin-Costello by Scott Wharton on 77 minute.
  • 80' The whistle greets Ryan Andrews as he departs to be replaced by Jeremy Ngakia.
  • 85' Supporters expect more eagerness from Harry Leonard, as he is very good at scoring at Vicarage Road with 0 goals in the last 0 games.
  • 90' Lewis Travis makes way for Jake Garrett at the 90 minute mark. A tactical switch from Blackburn Rovers FC.
  • Blackburn Rovers FC celebrates a vital win. Three points that could prove pivotal come season's end.

Lineups

Watford FC Lineups

4-3-3

Starting XI

Bench

Coach Valerien Ismael

Blackburn Rovers FC Lineups

4-2-3-1

Starting XI

Bench

Coach Jon Dahl Tomasson

H2H

H2H Top Scorers

PlayerGoals
Ryan Hedges 2
Ben Brereton 2
Joao Pedro 2
Matthew Pollock 1
Dominic Hyam 1
Bradley Dack 1
Wesley Hoedt 1
Darragh Lenihan 1

Head to Head

2023-08-27 Watford FC 0–1 Blackburn Rovers FC 2023-02-11 Watford FC 1–1 Blackburn Rovers FC 2022-09-13 Blackburn Rovers FC 2–0 Watford FC 2021-02-24 Blackburn Rovers FC 2–3 Watford FC 2020-10-21 Watford FC 3–1 Blackburn Rovers FC

Watford FC Form

2023-08-27 Watford FC 0–1 Blackburn Rovers FC L 2023-08-19 Stoke City FC 1–0 Watford FC L 2023-08-12 Watford FC 0–0 Plymouth Argyle FC D 2023-08-05 Watford FC 4–0 Queens Park Rangers FC W 2023-05-08 Watford FC 2–0 Stoke City FC W 2023-04-29 Sunderland AFC 2–2 Watford FC D

Blackburn Rovers FC Form

2023-08-27 Watford FC 0–1 Blackburn Rovers FC W 2023-08-19 Blackburn Rovers FC 1–2 Hull City AFC L 2023-08-12 Rotherham United FC 2–2 Blackburn Rovers FC D 2023-08-05 Blackburn Rovers FC 2–1 West Bromwich Albion FC W 2023-05-08 Millwall FC 3–4 Blackburn Rovers FC W 2023-05-01 Blackburn Rovers FC 1–1 Luton Town FC D

Predictions

Prediction accuracy
3 / 4
0.7 Watford FC xG
Expected Goals
Dixon-Coles · Bivariate Poisson · Neg. Binomial · Elo
0.66 Blackburn Rovers FC xG
I would bet for: Under 2.5 goals 84% + Under — clean sheet likely 74%

Match Result

✗ Wrong
Watford FC31% Draw39% Blackburn Rovers FC30%
Actual: Blackburn Rovers FC win

Both Teams to Score

✓ Correct
Yes26% 0% No74%
Avg goals/match: 1.36
Actual: No — clean sheet

Over / Under Goals

✓ O/U 2.5
Line Over Under
± 0.5 72%
28%
± 1.5 40%
60%
± 2.5 16%
84%
± 3.5 6%
94%
± 4.5 2%
98%

Double Chance

Watford FC or Draw
70%
Draw or Blackburn Rovers FC
69%
Watford FC or Blackburn Rovers FC
61%

Half-Time Result

✓ Correct
Watford FC18% Draw65% Blackburn Rovers FC17%
Actual: Draw at HT

Correct Score

✓ In top 12
0 – 0
28.4%
1 – 0
16.2%
0 – 1
Actual
1 – 1
12.9%
2 – 0
5.7%
0 – 2
5.1%
2 – 1
4.2%
1 – 2
4%
2 – 2
1.6%
3 – 0
1.3%
0 – 3
1.1%
3 – 1
1%

Asian Handicap — Watford FC

Handicap Watford FC covers Push Blackburn Rovers FC covers
-2.5 2% — 98%
-2 2% 7% 91%
-1.5 9% — 91%
-1 9% 21% 70%
-0.5 30% — 70%
+0.5 73% — 27%
+1 73% 20% 8%
+1.5 92% — 8%
+2 92% 6% 2%
+2.5 98% — 2%

Clean Sheet

Watford FC keeps clean sheet
52% ✗
Blackburn Rovers FC keeps clean sheet
50% ✓

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