Thursday , 2 July 2026

Watford FC vs Preston North End FC, Championship 2024-25 REGULAR SEASON

Championship · 2024-25
Watford FC
1 – 2
Full Time
Preston North End FC
Tue 21 Jan 2025 · 19:45 UTC Vicarage Road 16,397 HT 45' · FT 45'
0–1 17' Milutin Osmajic
0–2 56' Milutin Osmajic
Rocco Vata 90' 1–2
Y 27' Jordan Storey
Y 71' Stefan Teitur Thordarson

Overview

Match Preview

Watford FC vs Preston North End FC — Championship at Vicarage Road.

Match Details

  • Referee Tom Nield
  • Assistant 1 Alex James (England)
  • 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

3
5
2
Watford FC 10 games · Avg 2.4 goals Preston North End FC
Last 5 meetings
2025-01-21 Watford FC 1–2 Preston North End FC 2024-10-02 Preston North End FC 3–0 Watford FC 2024-04-06 Watford FC 0–0 Preston North End FC 2023-12-16 Preston North End FC 1–5 Watford FC 2023-03-04 Watford FC 0–0 Preston North End FC

Recent Form

Watford FC
DateOpponentH/A ScoreResult
21 Jan Preston North End FC H 1–2 L
18 Jan Derby County FC A 2–0 W
14 Jan Cardiff City FC A 1–1 D
09 Jan Fulham FC A 1–4 L
04 Jan Sheffield United FC H 1–2 L
01 Jan Queens Park Rangers FC A 1–3 L
Preston North End FC
DateOpponentH/A ScoreResult
21 Jan Watford FC A 2–1 W
18 Jan Luton Town FC A 0–0 D
14 Jan Charlton Athletic FC H 2–1 W
04 Jan Oxford United FC H 1–1 D
01 Jan West Bromwich Albion FC A 1–3 L
29 Dec Sheffield Wednesday FC H 3–1 W

Season Stats

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

Key Stats

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

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

Events

Match Events

  • 0' We are underway at Vicarage Road. The crowd does wile while the referee lows the starting whistle.
  • 5' A moment of individual brilliance could settle this. Both teams are waiting for that decisive action.
  • 10' Spectators are craving for more action. Both teams play very cautiously. They need to put some more energy.
  • 15' Watford FC make a change. Kwadwo Baah trudges off to be replaced by Festy Ebosele on 15 minutes.
  • 17' Preston North End FC is taking the lead after the goal scored by Milutin Osmajic on 17.
  • 22' Preston North End FC have won 414 goals from 378 games. They will be desperate to add to that tally today.
  • 27' Poor challenge from Jordan Storey. The referee spots it immediately and shows the card.
  • 32' We are waiting for someone to take the initiative. Who will be the first to commit to attack?
  • 37' The midfield battle is intense right now. Both Watford FC and Preston North End FC are fighting for every inch of the pitch.
  • 42' Kaine Kesler has been one of the livelier players on the pitch with 0 goals to his name this season.
  • 46' Yasser Larouci is ready to make an impact after coming on for James Abankwah at the 46 minute mark.
  • 51' We miss some good tackles and strikes. Is there anyone on the field to put the game back to action?
  • 53' Watford FC make a change. Festy Ebosele trudges off to be replaced by Giorgi Chakvetadze on 53 minutes.
  • 56' GOAL! Milutin Osmajic fires home to make it 0-2!
  • 61' The Array continues to deliver drama. Both Watford FC and Preston North End FC are desperate not to drop points on matchday .
  • 66' The clock is ticking and both teams know a goal could change everything at this point.
  • 67' The crowd applauds Ryan Ledson as he leaves the pitch. Duane Holmes steps in for Preston North End FC.
  • 71' Preston North End FC player sees a card in front of him.
  • 72' The crowd applauds Jayden Meghoma as he leaves the pitch. Robbie Brady steps in for Preston North End FC.
  • 73' Another change for Preston North End FC made on 73 minute. Mads Frokjaer-Jensen leaves to be changed by Sam Greenwood.
  • 77' Mamadou Doumbia is ready to make an impact after coming on for Edo Kayembe at the 77 minute mark.
  • 82' Imran Louza has certainly something to prove this evening. He made 0 appearances with only 0 goals this season.
  • 87' looks like a favorite considering 0 games won in last 0 matches with its main striker scoring goals.
  • 90' Goal! Rocco Vata scores his 4 goal in 410 matches.
  • 90' Liam Lindsay is ready to make an impact after coming on for Stefan Teitur Thordarson at the 90 minute mark.
  • The referee brings this contest to a close. Preston North End FC take all three points.

Lineups

Watford FC Lineups

3-4-2-1

Starting XI

Bench

Coach Tom Cleverley

Preston North End FC Lineups

3-4-2-1

Starting XI

Bench

Coach Paul Heckingbottom

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

2025-01-21 Watford FC 1–2 Preston North End FC 2024-10-02 Preston North End FC 3–0 Watford FC 2024-04-06 Watford FC 0–0 Preston North End FC 2023-12-16 Preston North End FC 1–5 Watford FC 2023-03-04 Watford FC 0–0 Preston North End FC

Watford FC Form

2025-01-21 Watford FC 1–2 Preston North End FC L 2025-01-18 Derby County FC 0–2 Watford FC W 2025-01-14 Cardiff City FC 1–1 Watford FC D 2025-01-09 Fulham FC 4–1 Watford FC L 2025-01-04 Watford FC 1–2 Sheffield United FC L 2025-01-01 Queens Park Rangers FC 3–1 Watford FC L

Preston North End FC Form

2025-01-21 Watford FC 1–2 Preston North End FC W 2025-01-18 Luton Town FC 0–0 Preston North End FC D 2025-01-14 Preston North End FC 2–1 Charlton Athletic FC W 2025-01-04 Preston North End FC 1–1 Oxford United FC D 2025-01-01 West Bromwich Albion FC 3–1 Preston North End FC L 2024-12-29 Preston North End FC 3–1 Sheffield Wednesday FC W

Predictions

Prediction accuracy
2 / 4
1.26 Watford FC xG
Expected Goals
Dixon-Coles · Bivariate Poisson · Neg. Binomial · Elo
1.35 Preston North End FC xG
I would bet for: Watford FC or Preston North End FC 71%

Match Result

✓ Correct
Watford FC33% Draw29% Preston North End FC38%
Actual: Preston North End FC win

Both Teams to Score

✓ Correct
Yes54% 0% No46%
Avg goals/match: 2.61
Actual: Yes — both scored

Over / Under Goals

✗ O/U 2.5
Line Over Under
± 0.5 91%
9%
± 1.5 74%
26%
± 2.5 48%
52%
± 3.5 27%
73%
± 4.5 13%
87%

Double Chance

Watford FC or Draw
62%
Draw or Preston North End FC
67%
Watford FC or Preston North End FC
71%

Half-Time Result

✗ Wrong
Watford FC25% Draw48% Preston North End FC27%
Actual: Preston North End FC win at HT

Correct Score

✓ In top 12
1 – 1
13.4%
0 – 0
9.4%
0 – 1
8.9%
1 – 0
8.2%
1 – 2
Actual
2 – 1
7.6%
0 – 2
6.5%
2 – 0
5.7%
2 – 2
5.2%
1 – 3
3.7%
3 – 1
3.2%
0 – 3
2.9%

Asian Handicap — Watford FC

Handicap Watford FC covers Push Preston North End FC covers
-2.5 5% — 95%
-2 5% 10% 85%
-1.5 15% — 85%
-1 15% 18% 67%
-0.5 33% — 67%
+0.5 63% — 37%
+1 63% 20% 18%
+1.5 82% — 18%
+2 82% 11% 6%
+2.5 94% — 6%

Clean Sheet

Watford FC keeps clean sheet
27% ✓
Preston North End FC keeps clean sheet
29% ✓

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