League soccer returns after the first international break of the season as Watford host high flying Birmingham at Vicarage Road on Saturday afternoon. Under new management, Watford have had a mixed start to the season, while Birmingham have a different feel compared to the past under exciting American ownership.
Watford's winless run in all competitions stretched to five matches as they romped to a six-goal draw with Coventry City in the East Midlands on September 2nd. Summer recruit Miletta Lajovic was in fine form for Watford, the striker scoring twice, although the Sky Blues' Matt Gooden scored a goal at the end of the game which ended in a draw.
Valerian Ismail has not won another game since thrashing Gary Ainsworth's QPR 4-0 in the opening round of the Championship season, with a five-match winless streak including a defeat against Stevenage in the first round of the EFL Cup.
Former West Bromwich Albion manager Ismail has had both West Brom and Barnsley competing at the top of the second tier in recent years, but with Watford currently sitting in 18th place after five games, it is to be expected that the man will need to turn his team's fortunes around quickly or risk being sacked.
The high-profile departure of Ismaila Saar has left the Hornets with a huge void in their offensive lineup, and fans are hoping that Tom Ince and the aforementioned Lajovic can fill that void.
Birmingham, who drew 1-1 with Millwall at St Andrews before the international break, join Preston North End as the only teams unbeaten in their opening five Championship games. Birmingham, who are currently fourth in the Championship, have collected 11 points from their opening five games while conceding just three goals.
While Birmingham teams often start the season brightly and then trend drastically downward without being overly complacent, the 2023-24 season does have a different feel to it thanks to the early season performances of Jay Stansfield and his team.
Birmingham City have been extremely poor at Vicarage Road over the past decade, and Saturday's visitors lost their fifth consecutive game at Watford's Hertfordshire home ground by an aggregate score of 0-10.
OUR PREDICTION: Watford 1-1 Birmingham City Watford have a flawless record against Birmingham City at Vicarage Road in recent matches, but the Hornets go up against a Blues side who are full of confidence after an unbeaten start to their campaign of five games. Eustace has asked his players to be competitive in Hertfordshire at the weekend and we expect a battling performance from the visitors to be enough to even the score.
