Thursday , 2 July 2026

Watford FC vs Portsmouth FC, Championship 2024-25 REGULAR SEASON

Championship · 2024-25
Watford FC
2 – 1
Full Time
Portsmouth FC
Thu 26 Dec 2024 · 15:00 UTC Vicarage Road 20,696 HT 45' · FT 45'
0–1 10' Zak Swanson
Edo Kayembe pen 57' 1–1
Rocco Vata 90+5' 2–1
Kwadwo Baah 30' Y
Y 57' Marlon Pack
Edo Kayembe 59' Y
Y 59' Nicolas Schmid
Y 60' Josh Murphy
Y 64' Callum Lang
Y 75' Zak Swanson
Y 90' Owen Moxon

Overview

Match Preview

Watford FC vs Portsmouth FC — Championship at Vicarage Road.

Match Details

  • Referee Geoff Eltringham
  • Assistant 1 Gregory Read (England)
  • Assistant 2 Bhupinder Gill

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

1
2
1
Watford FC 4 games · Avg 2.5 goals Portsmouth FC
Last 5 meetings
2024-12-26 Watford FC 2–1 Portsmouth FC

Recent Form

Watford FC
DateOpponentH/A ScoreResult
26 Dec Portsmouth FC H 2–1 W
21 Dec Burnley FC A 1–2 L
15 Dec West Bromwich Albion FC H 2–1 W
11 Dec Hull City AFC A 1–1 D
30 Nov Queens Park Rangers FC H 0–0 D
26 Nov Bristol City FC H 1–0 W
Portsmouth FC
DateOpponentH/A ScoreResult
26 Dec Watford FC A 1–2 L
21 Dec Coventry City FC H 4–1 W
13 Dec Derby County FC A 0–4 L
10 Dec Norwich City FC H 0–0 D
07 Dec Bristol City FC H 3–0 W
30 Nov Swansea City AFC A 2–2 D

Season Stats

Watford FC Portsmouth FC
#16 Position #18
57 Points 55
46 Played 46
14 / 15 / 17 W / D / L 14 / 13 / 19
53 Scored 49
65 Conceded 64
-12 GD -15
1.24 PPG 1.20
30% Win % 30%

Key Stats

75% Both Teams to Score
H2H (4 games)
50% Over 2.5 Goals
H2H history

Watford FC are 16th (57 pts). Portsmouth FC are 18th (55 pts).

Events

Match Events

  • 0' Both captains have shaken hands and the referee is ready. We are underway at Vicarage Road!
  • 5' It’s high time John Mousinho made some changes to put the his team’s game back to action.
  • 10' GOAL! Zak Swanson fires home to make it 0-1!
  • 15' named a 3-4-2-1 earlier, and opted for a 4-2-3-1 in response. A fascinating tactical duel is developing.
  • 20' Ryley Towler has been relatively quiet despite scoring 3 goals in his last 387 appearances.
  • 25' Ryan Porteous is putting in a real shift tonight. He has covered more ground than anyone else for Watford FC so far.
  • 30' The referee calls foul for Kwadwo Baah. He receives a card.
  • 35' has dominated the recent head-to-head record, winning 0 of the last 0 meetings.
  • 40' While there is no rush on the pitch, let’s have a look at some stats. Edo Kayembe made 390 appearances and scored 17 goals. He is very likely to score a goal today.
  • 45' Players seem to put ease on their energy level Spectators hardly appreciate such approach. Teams need to speed up the tempo.
  • 46' A change in the Watford FC ranks — James Morris exits the field as Rocco Vata enters on 46.
  • 49' The whistle greets Matt Ritchie as he departs to be replaced by Paddy Lane.
  • 54' Matthew Pollock needs to be pretty careful with his discipline considering 15 Yellow cards this season.
  • 57' Edo Kayembe has been a constant threat and now delivers with a goal on 57 minutes.
  • 57' Marlon Pack is having his name booked by the referee on 57.
  • 59' The referee calls foul for Edo Kayembe. He receives a card.
  • 60' The referee does not hesitate — a card for Josh Murphy on 60 minutes.
  • 64' It’s a booking for Portsmouth FC player. Callum Lang gets a card.
  • 69' The midfield battle is intense right now. Both Watford FC and Portsmouth FC are fighting for every inch of the pitch.
  • 71' Another substitution for Watford FC to replace Jeremy Ngakia by Ryan Andrews on 71 minute.
  • 75' Zak Swanson is having his name booked by the referee on 75.
  • 79' A change in the Portsmouth FC ranks — Zak Swanson exits the field as Terry Devlin enters on 79.
  • 82' Vakoun Issouf Bayo has so much to prove this time. He replaces Daniel Jebbison on 82 minute.
  • 87' A quiet spell here at Vicarage Road. Watford FC seem content sitting deep and soaking up pressure.
  • 88' Watford FC make a change. Edo Kayembe trudges off to be replaced by Moussa Sissoko on 88 minutes.
  • 90' A meaty challenge results in booking for Owen Moxon on 90.
  • Both sets of fans can go home satisfied — a 2-1 draw is a fair result on the day.

Lineups

Watford FC Lineups

3-4-2-1

Starting XI

Bench

Coach Tom Cleverley

Portsmouth FC Lineups

4-2-3-1

Starting XI

Bench

Coach John Mousinho

Predictions

Prediction accuracy
3 / 4
1.77 Watford FC xG
Expected Goals
Dixon-Coles · Bivariate Poisson · Neg. Binomial · Elo
1 Portsmouth FC xG
I would bet for: Markets are evenly balanced — no clear value pick.

Match Result

✓ Correct
Watford FC55% Draw25% Portsmouth FC20%
Actual: Watford FC win

Both Teams to Score

✓ Correct
Yes53% 0% No47%
Avg goals/match: 2.77
Actual: Yes — both scored

Over / Under Goals

✓ O/U 2.5
Line Over Under
± 0.5 92%
8%
± 1.5 76%
24%
± 2.5 51%
49%
± 3.5 30%
70%
± 4.5 15%
85%

Double Chance

Watford FC or Draw
79%
Draw or Portsmouth FC
45%
Watford FC or Portsmouth FC
75%

Half-Time Result

✗ Wrong
Watford FC38% Draw45% Portsmouth FC17%
Actual: Portsmouth FC win at HT

Correct Score

✓ In top 12
1 – 1
12%
1 – 0
10.3%
2 – 0
9.7%
2 – 1
Actual
0 – 0
8.2%
3 – 1
5.6%
3 – 0
5.6%
0 – 1
5.4%
1 – 2
5.3%
2 – 2
4.7%
0 – 2
3.1%
3 – 2
2.9%

Asian Handicap — Watford FC

Handicap Watford FC covers Push Portsmouth FC covers
-2.5 14% — 86%
-2 14% 17% 69%
-1.5 31% — 69%
-1 31% 23% 46%
-0.5 54% — 46%
+0.5 80% — 20%
+1 80% 13% 7%
+1.5 93% — 7%
+2 93% 5% 2%
+2.5 98% — 2%

Clean Sheet

Watford FC keeps clean sheet
38% ✓
Portsmouth FC keeps clean sheet
18% ✓

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