Thursday , 2 July 2026

Watford FC vs Cardiff City FC, Championship 2023-24 REGULAR SEASON

Championship · 2023-24
Watford FC
0 – 1
Full Time
Cardiff City FC
Sat 3 Feb 2024 · 15:00 UTC Vicarage Road HT 45' · FT 45'
0–1 43' Josh Bowler
Giorgi Chakvetadze 44' Y
Matthew Pollock 47' Y
Jake Livermore 50' Y
Y 51' Rubin Colwill
Y 69' Josh Bowler
Y 90' Dimitrios Goutas

Overview

Match Preview

Watford FC vs Cardiff City FC — Championship at Vicarage Road.

Match Details

  • Referee James Linington
  • Assistant 1 Andrew Fox
  • Assistant 2

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

4
2
4
Watford FC 10 games · Avg 3.0 goals Cardiff City FC
Last 5 meetings
2024-02-03 Watford FC 0–1 Cardiff City FC 2023-10-07 Cardiff City FC 1–1 Watford FC 2023-04-19 Watford FC 1–3 Cardiff City FC 2022-11-02 Cardiff City FC 1–2 Watford FC 2021-03-13 Cardiff City FC 1–2 Watford FC

Recent Form

Watford FC
DateOpponentH/A ScoreResult
03 Feb Cardiff City FC H 0–1 L
31 Jan Sheffield Wednesday FC A 0–0 D
28 Jan Southampton FC H 1–1 D
20 Jan Bristol City FC A 1–1 D
14 Jan Queens Park Rangers FC A 2–1 W
06 Jan Chesterfield FC H 2–1 W
Cardiff City FC
DateOpponentH/A ScoreResult
03 Feb Watford FC A 1–0 W
20 Jan Plymouth Argyle FC A 1–3 L
13 Jan Leeds United FC H 0–3 L
06 Jan Sheffield Wednesday FC A 0–4 L
01 Jan Queens Park Rangers FC A 2–1 W
29 Dec Leicester City FC H 0–2 L

Key Stats

80% Both Teams to Score
H2H (10 games)
60% Over 2.5 Goals
H2H history

Events

Match Events

  • 0' What a night it is going to be! Watford FC welcome Cardiff City FC for this crunch clash at Vicarage Road.
  • 5' England international Matthew Pollock has been a key figure this campaign — 0 goals and 0 assists in the Array this season.
  • 10' Cardiff City FC have won 398 goals from 372 games. They will be desperate to add to that tally today.
  • 15' Ryan Andrews, a England , has 1 bookings this season and will need to keep his discipline tonight.
  • 20' Cardiff City FC started playing very sharply right from the kick off. However, it slowed down the tempo rapidly by 20.
  • 25' A quiet spell here at Vicarage Road. Cardiff City FC seem content sitting deep and soaking up pressure.
  • 30' Both teams are passing the ball around with high level of urgency. Watford FC needs to do something about it to get closer to the goal.
  • 35' The referee has had an easy afternoon — neither side has been overly physical in the tackle.
  • 40' Watford FC are enjoying more possession but struggling to find a way through a disciplined Cardiff City FC backline.
  • 43' Josh Bowler doubles the advantage! 0-1 and this game is slipping away from the opposition.
  • 44' A meaty challenge results in booking for Giorgi Chakvetadze on 44.
  • 47' That is a Yellow card for Watford FC. Matthew Pollock will be fuming at that decision.
  • 50' It’s gonna be a Yellow card for Jake Livermore.
  • 51' A moment of madness from Rubin Colwill on 51 minutes earns him a Yellow card. Cardiff City FC will be frustrated.
  • 56' The Array continues to deliver drama. Both Watford FC and Cardiff City FC are desperate not to drop points on matchday .
  • 60' The Watford FC manager makes a substitution. Giorgi Chakvetadze departs to be replaced by Ken Sema.
  • 62' Cardiff City FC manager makes another effort to make the tables turned. David Turnbull is hanging Rubin Colwill on the field on 62 minute.
  • 67' While players are taking a pause, let’s have a look at their stats. The teams met 0 times this season with winning -% of all matches.
  • 69' Josh Bowler has been a danger all night but risks an early exit having now seen a Yellow card on 69.
  • 74' The crowd applauds Josh Bowler as he leaves the pitch. Josh Wilson-Esbrand steps in for Cardiff City FC.
  • 78' Tom Dele-Bashiru gets the nod from Watford FC. He replaces Jake Livermore and will look to change the dynamic.
  • 82' Kion Etete makes way for Famara Diedhiou at the 82 minute mark. A tactical switch from Cardiff City FC.
  • 87' Not even hints on scoring a goal over the last 87 minutes.
  • 90' The referee has no hesitation. Dimitrios Goutas is booked for Cardiff City FC — Yellow card on 90.
  • The final whistle goes. A composed, disciplined performance from Cardiff City FC to claim maximum points.

Lineups

Watford FC Lineups

4-1-4-1

Starting XI

Bench

Coach Valerien Ismael

Cardiff City FC Lineups

4-4-2

Starting XI

Bench

Coach Erol Bulut

H2H

H2H Top Scorers

PlayerGoals
Gerard Deulofeu 4
Ismaila Sarr 3
Cedric Kipre 3
Vakoun Issouf Bayo 2
Troy Deeney 2
Callum Robinson 2
Francisco Sierralta 2
Mark McGuinness 1

Head to Head

2024-02-03 Watford FC 0–1 Cardiff City FC 2023-10-07 Cardiff City FC 1–1 Watford FC 2023-04-19 Watford FC 1–3 Cardiff City FC 2022-11-02 Cardiff City FC 1–2 Watford FC 2021-03-13 Cardiff City FC 1–2 Watford FC

Watford FC Form

2024-02-03 Watford FC 0–1 Cardiff City FC L 2024-01-31 Sheffield Wednesday FC 0–0 Watford FC D 2024-01-28 Watford FC 1–1 Southampton FC D 2024-01-20 Bristol City FC 1–1 Watford FC D 2024-01-14 Queens Park Rangers FC 1–2 Watford FC W 2024-01-06 Watford FC 2–1 Chesterfield FC W

Cardiff City FC Form

2024-02-03 Watford FC 0–1 Cardiff City FC W 2024-01-20 Plymouth Argyle FC 3–1 Cardiff City FC L 2024-01-13 Cardiff City FC 0–3 Leeds United FC L 2024-01-06 Sheffield Wednesday FC 4–0 Cardiff City FC L 2024-01-01 Queens Park Rangers FC 1–2 Cardiff City FC W 2023-12-29 Cardiff City FC 0–2 Leicester City FC L

Predictions

Prediction accuracy
2 / 4
1.31 Watford FC xG
Expected Goals
Dixon-Coles · Bivariate Poisson · Neg. Binomial · Elo
1.12 Cardiff City FC xG
I would bet for: Watford FC or Cardiff City FC 71% + Under 2.5 goals 57%

Match Result

✗ Wrong
Watford FC41% Draw29% Cardiff City FC30%
Actual: Cardiff City FC win

Both Teams to Score

✓ Correct
Yes50% 0% No50%
Avg goals/match: 2.43
Actual: No — clean sheet

Over / Under Goals

✓ O/U 2.5
Line Over Under
± 0.5 89%
11%
± 1.5 70%
30%
± 2.5 43%
57%
± 3.5 23%
77%
± 4.5 11%
89%

Double Chance

Watford FC or Draw
70%
Draw or Cardiff City FC
59%
Watford FC or Cardiff City FC
71%

Half-Time Result

✗ Wrong
Watford FC28% Draw50% Cardiff City FC22%
Actual: Cardiff City FC win at HT

Correct Score

✓ In top 12
1 – 1
13.9%
0 – 0
10.9%
1 – 0
10.4%
0 – 1
Actual
2 – 1
8.1%
2 – 0
7.3%
1 – 2
7%
0 – 2
5.4%
2 – 2
4.7%
3 – 1
3.6%
3 – 0
3.1%
1 – 3
2.6%

Asian Handicap — Watford FC

Handicap Watford FC covers Push Cardiff City FC covers
-2.5 7% — 93%
-2 7% 12% 82%
-1.5 18% — 82%
-1 18% 21% 61%
-0.5 39% — 61%
+0.5 70% — 30%
+1 70% 18% 13%
+1.5 87% — 13%
+2 87% 9% 4%
+2.5 96% — 4%

Clean Sheet

Watford FC keeps clean sheet
33% ✓
Cardiff City FC keeps clean sheet
28% ✗

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