Watford v West Brom predictions: Championship playoff chasers tough to split

Where to watch

Sky Sports Main Event & Football, 8pm Monday

Best bet

Draw
1pt 12-5 bet365

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Team news

Watford
Tom Cleverley and Craig Cathcart headline the Hornets' lengthy injury list, with Francisco Sierralta and Dan Gosling also among their absentees.

West Brom
Kyle Bartley and Matt Phillips are both unavailable due to injury, while Tom Rogic and Nathaniel Chalobah are doubts.

Match preview

Watford and West Brom both have promotion ambitions but their form and recent history hints that they may end up cancelling each other out on Monday evening.

Just two points separate the sides in the table and having played out a 1-1 draw in August's reverse fixture, they could again be tough to split.

The Hornets were last seen conceding a heartbreaking stoppage-time equaliser at Burnley to extend their winless run to five matches, four of which have resulted in ties, and now sit outside the playoff places.

A win on Monday will take them back into the top six and boss Slaven Bilic has extra motivation to beat the Baggies, having been sacked after guiding them into the Premier League as Championship runners-up in 2019-20.

Never one to hide his emotions, Bilic still scratches his chin, shakes his head and throws his arms up in the air like a man who has turned up to his favourite restaurant without a reservation, only to be told they are full.

After being summoned in September following the termination of Rob Edwards' short spell in charge, the Croat coach has enjoyed a typically tumultuous time of it and inconsistency has plagued his talented yet mercurial squad.

The Hornets are well in the promotion picture but the boss's hangdog expression has been exacerbated by his team's recent run and he will know the Hornets can, and must, do better if they are to be promoted.

Bilic's opposite number, Spaniard Carlos Corberan, is another coach who started the season elsewhere, leaving Huddersfield after losing out in last May's playoff final to Nottingham Forest, before embarking on a disastrous six-week spell in charge of Greek giants Olympiakos. 

Staring into the chasm of relegation to League One under Steve Bruce, the Baggies called for Corberan and he rode to the rescue dressed in his trademark tight trousers and down jacket.

The 39-year-old's frantic touchline energy could power whichever stadium he's in and his urgency has regularly been reflected on the pitch.

Corberan's exploits have earned him a long-term deal at The Hawthorns but recent results hint that the honeymoon might be over. West Brom have won just one of their last four in the league, most recently spurning the lead to draw 1-1 with Blackburn. 

They sit tenth in the table and like Bilic, the ever-positive Iberian will know that his team need to rediscover their form to have any chance of him returning to Wembley.

With little to choose between them in the Championship standings and draws in two of their last three competitive meetings, a draw again looks the likely outcome at Vicarage Road.

Key stat

Watford have drawn four of their last five league games.

Probable teams

Watford (4-3-3): Bachmann; Gaspar, Porteuos, Hoedt, Kamara; Kone, Choudhury, Sema; Sarr, Davis, Pedro.
Subs: Hamer, Kabasele, Morris, Louza, Martins, Araujo, Assombalonga 

West Brom (4-2-3-1): Griffiths; Furlong, O'Shea, Pieters, Townsend; Yokuslu, Molumby; Wallace, Swift, Diangana; Thomas-Asante.
Subs: Button, Ajayi, Reach, Chalobah, Albrighton, Dike, Ahearne-Grant 

Inside info

Watford

Penalty taker Ismaila Sarr
Assist ace Ken Sema
Set-piece aerial threat Wesley Hoedt
Card magnet Hassane Kamara 

West Brom

Penalty taker Brandon Thomas-Asante
Assist ace Jed Wallace
Set-piece aerial threat Dara O'Shea
Card magnet Jayson Molumby 

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