Match Pack: Watford v Birmingham City

• Watford v Birmingham City
• Sky Bet Championship
• Vicarage Road
• Saturday September 16, 3pm KO
• Yellow and black home kit

• Referee: Keith Stroud
• Assistant Referees: Matthew Smith and Richard Wild
• Fourth Official: Sam Purkiss

Birmingham City currently occupy fourth place in the second-tier with 11 points from five games – one of only two teams to still be unbeaten in the league. Victories against Leeds United, Bristol City and Plymouth Arygle have ensured that John Eustace’s side head to The Vic with plenty of momentum.

Although it hasn’t been a perfect record, following a draw to Millwall last time out and defeat to Cardiff City in the opening round of the Carabao Cup, former Hornets skipper Eustace will be hoping to leave Hertfordshire with all three points.

• Watford have won eight of their last 10 league games against Birmingham City (D1 L1), winning 3-0 at Vicarage Road last season.

• Birmingham’s five-game winless run against Watford is their second-longest winless run against the Hornets in the Football League (D1 L4), following a seven-game stretch between December 1983 and April 1993 (D1 L6).

• The Hornets have won each of their last five home league games against Birmingham by an aggregate score of 10-0. They last won six successive such games against an opponent in January 2021 against Barnsley.

For a full statistical breakdown, check out Stats Buzz: Birmingham City In Numbers.

For Watford, Ken Sema will be assessed ahead of tomorrow’s match, while Jamal Lewis could potentially be involved.

For Birmingham, Siriki Dembélé, Ethan Laird and Tyler Roberts are expected to miss out. George Hall is unavailable through injury, alongside long-term absentee Alfie Chang, and Lukas Jutkiewicz will serve the second of his three-game suspension.

Valérien Ismaël, Watford Head Coach:

“It will be a difficult game for us. A lot of teams have changed how they play against us, so we expect a difficult game. They will try to make the space very tight and try to counter attack us. It will be an intense and direct game on that side, so we have to be ready for the second balls and win our duels.

“We are prepared for the game. We know exactly what we have to do tomorrow, and we are focused on us, as usual, because we have a big desire to get the points. It will be important to start well after the international break.”

Click HERE to see Ismaël’s full pre-match press conference.

John Eustace, Birmingham City Head Coach:

“It has been a good couple of weeks, the international break has given us some time to get work in, nice to see some of the new boys in too. They had a couple of days off but then we were back in for work.

“Although we haven’t had a game to think about, training has been good and at a high intensity. The lads are raring to go again. We have matched every team we have played, there are good signs but there is still a lot of hard work ahead for us.”

Overall:

Won: 23
Drawn: 10
Lost: 17

Last Six:

March 2023: Watford 3-0 Birmingham City (Championship)
August 2022: Birmingham City 1-1 Watford (Championship)
March 2021: Watford 3-0 Birmingham City (Championship)
December 2020: Birmingham City 0-1 Watford (Championship)
April 2015: Watford 1-0 Birmingham City (Championship)
November 2014: Birmingham City 2-1 Watford (Championship)

Watford’s most recent win against the Blues came last time out in March 2023. Imrân Louza, Keinan Davis and Britt Assombalonga scored for the Hornets on that evening, with the latter getting his first goal in yellow, as the Vicarage Road faithful was treated to a 3-0 victory.