Watford v Oxford United: Prediction, Tips and Odds

The last round of Championship fixtures before the November international break commences in Hertfordshire with Watford looking to boost their play-off prospects at the expense of an Oxford United side focused on second-tier consolidation.

Watford have generally struggled on their travels and suffered a sixth away league defeat of the campaign when losing 1-0 at Swansea on Tuesday.

But they are a different proposition on home soil and will be targeting a win over 16th-placed Oxford, who are perched two points above the relegation zone.

Oxford have taken a healthy 17 points from 14 games and will be looking to build on their hard-fought 1-0 midweek success at home to Hull.

Watford v Oxford United betting tips and predictions

Watford to win - 4/5

Watford have amassed 16 of their 22 points from home fixtures and can give their fans another positive experience by defeating Oxford in their first Friday fixture of the campaign.

Last season was a totally different experience for Watford, who secured seven of their 13 league wins away from home.

The Hornets went almost five months without a Championship home win between November 2023 and April this year, but the spell was broken in the spring with a 1-0 success over Sunderland and they haven’t looked back.

Tom Cleverley’s side are aiming to extend an unbeaten sequence of 12 home matches and should have a burning desire to impress after their disappointing single-goal loss at Swansea earlier this week.

Oxford had a much more positive midweek after overcoming a slow start to register a 1-0 victory over Hull.

But the Yellows remain winless on their Championship travels and have shipped at least two goals in five of their six second-tier away fixtures.

Des Buckingham’s side are capable of playing some nice football but they have shown a general lack of resilience on their travels and may face further disappointment in Hertfordshire.

Kwadwo Baah to score any time - 12/5

Watford have lacked a reliable goalscorer but pacy attacker Baah is emerging as a key player and looks a probable match-winner against Oxford.

Baah has done a lot of his best work off the bench but has been afforded more regular starts in recent times and he possesses the necessary running power and strength to unsettle the majority of Championship defenders.

The 21-year-old has netted in each of Watford’s last two home games and looks a tasty 12/5 shot to extend his Vicarage Road scoring sequence.

Ryan Porteous to be carded - 5/2

Scotland international Ryan Porteous was the first Watford player to reach five yellow cards this season and he looks an overpriced 5/2 to add to his caution count against Oxford.

Porteous was left out of the side for Tuesday’s 1-0 loss at Swansea but is in line for a recall at the expense of suspended team-mate Francisco Sierralta, who is the latest Hornets player to reach the five-card threshold.

The 25-year-old can be rash with his tackling, as was evidenced at Euro 2024 when he was dismissed after just 45 minutes of Scotland’s 5-1 loss to Germany and Porteous’s high-profile indiscretion in Munich was far from an isolated episode.

He totted up 14 yellow cards last season, which was the joint-highest in the division alongside tough-tackling Ipswich midfielder Sam Morsy.

Porteous is on course to reach a similar tally over the course of this campaign and won’t be too concerned about receiving another card, as long as his team are successful in securing an important three points.

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Watford v Oxford United odds

Watford - 4/5
Draw - 27/10
Oxford United - 16/5

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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.