Plymouth Argyle v Watford: Prediction, Tips and Odds

Wayne Rooney's Plymouth Argyle claimed a valuable 1-0 victory over Portsmouth in their last Championship home fixture and they are aiming to follow up when Watford visit Home Park on Friday.

Plymouth Argyle v Watford betting tips and predictions

1-1 correct score - 6/1

Sixth-placed Watford resume their Championship campaign with a trip to Plymouth Argyle, who are 18th in the table and nine points worse off than the Hornets after 15 games of the season.

However, home advantage has been crucial for both clubs this season so Plymouth, playing on their own patch at Home Park, may be capable of frustrating their promotion-chasing visitors.

Watford beat Oxford 1-0 at Vicarage Road last time out, meaning they have taken 19 points from a possible 21 at home this season.

It has been a different story for Tom Cleverley's men on their travels as they have lost six of their eight away fixtures including 3-0 defeats at struggling Preston and Luton.

Watford thrashed Sheffield Wednesday 6-2 at Hillsborough on 2nd November but slipped to a 1-0 defeat at Swansea in their subsequent road fixture and the 1-1 correct score is worth backing at Plymouth.

Cleverley's former Manchester United teammate Wayne Rooney has picked up 16 points from his first 15 league matches as Plymouth boss and 14 of them have been earned at home.

The Pilgrims have scored only twice in eight away matches but they are far more fluent in front of their own fans, beating leaders Sunderland 3-2, Luton 3-1 and Blackburn 2-1 in consecutive home games in late September and early October.

Plymouth kept a rare clean sheet in a 1-0 win over Portsmouth in their last home fixture before earning a 1-1 draw at Rooney's former club Derby and they can pick up another point on Friday.

Vakoun Bayo first goalscorer - 5/1

Watford striker Vakoun Bayo looks a worthy favourite in the first-goalscorer market, having scored four times in the rout of Sheffield Wednesday earlier this month.

Bayo, who had six shots in 69 minutes during September's 2-1 home win over in-form Sunderland, also scored the only goal of the game against Oxford before the international break.

The Ivorian forward has already matched his goal tally from last season's Championship, in which he started 27 games and came off the bench 12 times, and there may be more to come from the 27-year-old.

He bagged 14 goals in 24 starts for Sporting Charleroi in the Belgian top flight in 2021/22 and 2022/23 and should be confident of troubling the Plymouth defence on Friday.

Plymouth to have more shots - 11/10

There is a significant disparity between Watford's attacking threat at home and away as they average 14.7 shots per game in the Championship at Vicarage Road but only 9.9 on the road.

The Hornets had 17 shots to Plymouth's six in August's 2-0 EFL Cup win at Watford but the Pilgrims look a decent price to reverse that form and register more shots in Friday's clash.

Plymouth forward Morgan Whittaker could play a key role in the success of this bet as he averages 3.3 shots per game in the Championship this term.

Whittaker has had four or more attempts in three of his last four outings and racked up six efforts in both August's 1-1 home draw with Hull and September's 1-0 defeat at West Brom.

Plymouth remain inconsistent but they are capable of turning on the style at home. They had 32 shots in an early-season EFL Cup victory over Cheltenham and mustered 17 attempts to Blackburn's seven in October's Championship success so they are worth backing to win the shots battle against Watford.

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Plymouth Argyle v Watford odds

Plymouth Argyle - 21/10
Draw - 5/2
Watford - 6/5

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.