Watford make the trip to the John Smith's Stadium to face Huddersfield Town having put together a three-match unbeaten streak in the Championship.

Despite going two games without success over the past week, Huddersfield head into this contest on the back of three successive home victories.

Match preview

Watford manager Vladimir Ivic pictured in November 2020 © Reuters

Vladimir Ivic was left visibly frustrated with some of the decisions during Watford's 1-1 draw with promotion rivals Brentford earlier this week.

Nevertheless, the Hornets have now recorded seven points from a possible nine, a run which has resulted in the club sitting in third position in the standings.

Goals remain an issue for this well-stocked squad with just one strike, at home to Rotherham United, coming from open play during their last five fixtures.

Despite his most recent strikes coming from the penalty spot, Troy Deeney is building some momentum having made six starts in succession.

Norwich City and Swansea City are to come over the Christmas and New Year period, but it is a sign of Watford's progress that many would back them to claim at least a share of the spoils from those games.

As for Huddersfield, they face opponents with the second-best defensive record in the division on the back of two matches without finding the back of the net.

Although Carlos Corberan rested several key men for the game at Bournemouth, it failed to pay off as the Terriers recorded a goalless draw at Coventry City in midweek.

Corberan may have been relatively satisfied with earning a point against one of the in-form teams given that the result was enough to keep the Sky Blues below them in the table.

However, it was a fifth away fixture without success, a record which naturally puts more pressure on Huddersfield to keep taking advantage of their games on more familiar territory.

Huddersfield Town Championship form: WLWWLD

Watford Championship form: WDLWWD

Team News

Huddersfield Town manager Carlos Corberan pictured in December 2020. © Reuters

Having rested a number of players last weekend, Huddersfield boss Corberan may feel that he does not need to make any alterations for this contest.

Alex Pritchard and Adama Diakhaby are alternatives in midfield and attack if the Spaniard opts for a more attack-minded XI.

The extra day of recovery could encourage Ivic to stick with the Watford side which started the match against Brentford.

Should the Hornets manager feel tempted into making a change, Etienne Capoue is likely to provide some fresh legs in midfield.

Huddersfield Town possible starting lineup:
Schofield; Pipa, Edmonds-Green, Sarr, Toffolo; Eiting, Hogg, O'Brien; Mbenza, Campbell, Bacuna

Watford possible starting lineup:
Foster; Ngakia, Troost-Ekong, Kabasele, Femenia; Chalobah, Cleverley; Sarr, Garner, Sema; Deeney

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We say: Huddersfield Town 1-2 Watford

Watford have established themselves as the strongest challengers to the top two, and we expect another efficient performance from the Hornets at the weekend. While Huddersfield will be confident of another win in Yorkshire, they could be outfought at their home ground.

Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a double chance bet on a draw or an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Watford win with a probability of 41.59%. A win for Huddersfield Town had a probability of 29.54% and a draw had a probability of 28.9%.

The most likely scoreline for a Watford win was 0-1 with a probability of 13.53%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (8.25%) and 1-2 (8.08%). The likeliest Huddersfield Town win was 1-0 (10.86%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.25%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 5.3% likelihood.