On the final weekend before the international break, Southampton look to end their stuttering start to the campaign at Vicarage Road against Watford.
EFL Championship
Our Three Predictions For Watford vs Southampton:
- First Prediction For Watford vs Southampton: Match Result – Southampton – 7/5
- Second Prediction For Watford vs Southampton: Under 3.5 Goals – 12/5
- Third Prediction For Watford vs Southampton: Both Teams To Score – Yes – 3/4
First Prediction For Watford vs Southampton: Match Result – Southampton – 7/5
All the pressure is on the Saints to deliver this term, though some of that has been relieved as a result of their recent transfer business. Will Still’s side have lost two of its prized assets in recent days to top-flight teams, though the replacements have plenty of experience at Championship level. An immediate return to the Premier League has to be the aim, and September will test that ambition with a Hampshire derby against Portsmouth, along with encounters against Middlesbrough and Sheffield United. Paulo Pezzolano has had a mixed start to his reign, too, with a win, a draw and a loss to date. A tasty televised encounter with Millwall is sandwiched inbetween two home games against Blackburn Rovers and Hull City next month. In the meantime, expect the visitors to edge this one.
Second Prediction For Watford vs Southampton: Under 3.5 Goals – 12/5
Will Still hasn’t got off to the best start at Southampton, but three points in Hertfordshire tomorrow afternoon would do very nicely indeed. If not, they will be playing catch-up on some of the early pace-setters in the second tier. Three is the maximum amount of goals scored in all five of their games across all competitions to date, with three games seeing that exact figure. That is also the highest figure in games involving Watford, with half seeing the three-goal mark hit. With that in mind, expect that number to be hit once again tomorrow afternoon.
Third Prediction For Watford vs Southampton: Both Teams To Score – Yes – 3/4
Shrugging off their opening day defeat, Watford have scored in all three games that have followed their loss at The Valley. Southampton haven’t looked like they have properly got going, yet have scored in every competitive fixture to date, spelling danger for the rest of the Championship. Four of the last five meetings between the two clubs have seen both get on the scoresheet, including last year’s dramatic April clash. Scoring in the first minute and 99th, Flynn Downes grabbed the incredible last-gasp winner for the Saints. Some of the same drama tomorrow wouldn’t go amiss.
Best Odds For Watford vs Southampton
| Bookmaker | Watford | Draw | Southampton |
| MyriadPlay | 39/20 | 23/10 | 7/5 |
| Gentleman Jim | 19/10 | 9/4 | 29/20 |
| Betarno | 19/10 | 9/4 | 27/20 |
The table above shows the latest odds from leading football betting websites.
Full Preview Of The Game: Last Results And Head-To-Head:
Paulo Pezzolano’s reign as Watford manager has got off to a mixed start. Taking over from Tom Cleverley, who failed to get the Hornets promoted back to the Premier League, fear rises over being stuck in the second tier for the foreseeable future. Time won’t be on the Uruguayan’s side, though, with Gino Pozzo infamously a man who has little patience with difficult results. Failing to even mount a Play-Off push since relegation, five managers have failed in recent years. The start of the new era was a tough one, losing at newly-promoted Charlton Athletic in dramatic style on the opening day. That was followed by an early exit in the Carabao Cup at home to second-tier rivals Norwich City, thanks to two goals inside the opening 25 minutes of the game. But against another London side, Queens Park Rangers, an early Luca Kjerrumgaard brace gave their new manager his first win. That victory was marred by Imran Louza’s red card, meaning he will miss tomorrow’s encounter as he serves the second of a three-game ban.
Last weekend, Nestory Irankunda’s fine free-kick at Swansea City appeared to be sending the Hornets on their way to consecutive victories until Zan Vipotnik’s late leveller denied them all three points in South Wales. Big money has been spent on nineteen-year-old wingers Nestory Irankunda and Othmane Maamma, completing seven-figure transfers from abroad. Udinese pair Vivaldo Semedo and Luca Kjerrumgaard add to the Hornets’ attacking options, filling the void left by outgoing striker Mileta Rajović. Nampalys Mendy brings experience at the age of 33 from Lens, with Marc Bola aiming to improve their defence. From League One, Nathan Baxter (Bolton Wanderers) and Hector Kyprianou (Peterborough United) have also been smart signings, while Max Alleyne completes their business from Manchester City on loan. Centre-halves Francisco Sierralta and Antonio Tikvic have departed for sizeable fees. Ryan Porteous leaves for the MLS with LAFC, with three players also leaving Vicarage Road on loan for the season.
Southampton have yet to get going on their return to the Championship. The Saints were relegated from the Premier League, where they finished the season with the second-lowest points tally in the competition’s history, and hold the unwanted record of the earliest relegation in terms of games remaining (seven). Trailing Wrexham for three quarters of the match on the opening day, Ryan Manning’s wonderful free-kick and Jack Stephens’ scrappy finish turned the game on its head in a dramatic period of injury time. In the ‘Compass Derby’, south triumphed north as Southampton knocked Northampton out of the EFL Cup thanks to Mateus Fernandes’ early second-half effort. In the highly anticipated meeting between two promotion candidates, an early own-goal from Taylor Harwood-Bellis was cancelled out by Jay Robinson’s early equaliser. There were some big question marks over the visitors’ defending, with a catalogue of errors leading to Ipswich Town’s fourth-minute breakthrough. Despite Harwood-Bellis scoring at the right end last weekend, it couldn’t force a comeback as Stoke City stole the points, despite being reduced to ten men with half an hour remaining.
As the window prepares to shut on Monday evening, the Saints’ business has been ramped up in recent days. Mateus Fernandes and Tyler Dibling have fetched fees of close to £80m combined, leaving for Premier League outfits West Ham United and Everton, respectively. A fraction of that number has been spent on forward Finn Azaz from Middlesbrough and Tom Fellows at West Bromwich Albion; the latter signed earlier this afternoon and is unlikely to be involved tomorrow. Jay Robinson has been promoted from the U21’s, while Caspar Jander arrives from the German Bundesliga after completing a move from Nuremberg, joining fellow countrymen Damion Downs (Cologne) and Joshua Quarshie (Hoffenheim). Mads Roerslev (Brentford) strengthens the right side of their defence, while George Long bolsters the goalkeeping department from Norwich City. Kamaldeen Sulemana fetched an eight-figure fee from Atalanta, while Jan Bednarek (Porto) and Samuel Amo-Ameyaw (Strasbourg) have also left for decent money, both moving to top-flight sides in Europe. Paul Onuachu (Trabzonspor), Aaron Ramsdale (Newcastle United), Kyle Walker-Peters (West Ham United) and Joe Lumley (Bristol City) complete the outgoings.
Confrontation30/08/2025 Championship Championship 
Watford 
Southampton 2 2 13/04/2024 Championship Championship
Southampton
Watford 3 2 06/02/2024 FA Cup FA Cup
Southampton
Watford 3 0 28/01/2024 FA Cup FA Cup
Watford
Southampton 1 1 09/12/2023 Championship Championship
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Southampton 1 1 Last Results - Watford
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Where To Watch Watford vs Southampton:
Where can I watch the game, either on TV or in person?
- Location: Vicarage Road, Watford
- Date: Saturday 30th August, 2025
- TV Channel: This game is not scheduled for TV broadcast.
Probable Lineups For Watford vs Southampton:
Predicted Watford Lineup:
- Lineup: Selvik, Alleyne, Keben, Abankwah, Ngakia, Sissoko, Kyprianou, Kayembe, Bola, Irankunda, Kjerrumgaard
- Suspended/Injured: Louza
- Coach: Paulo Pezzolano
Predicted Southampton Lineup:
- Lineup: Bazunu, Harwood-Bellis, Wood, Stephens, Fraser, Downes, Charles, Manning, Archer, Robinson, Armstrong
- Suspended/Injured: Edoize, Bree, Smallbone, Welington
- Coach: Will Still
