Watford will be heading into this game full of confidence after managing two wins and a draw in their opening three games of the season.

However, the same cannot be said for Birmingham, who have had a mixed set of results so far this season. Hence, the supporters can expect an even battle when these two sides go head-to-head with each other.

Sitting currently third in the table, Watford's start to life in the Championship has been quite impressive. Having started with a win over Sheffield United, they drew at West Bromwich Albion before beating Burnley at home in their last match - all three matches were tricky fixtures, but the Hornets found a way to get past them impressively.

On the other hand, Birmingham started the season off with a draw against Watford's local rivals Luton Town before edging past Huddersfield Town. However, they lost their last game at Cardiff City. Hence, they will be keen to bounce back quickly - when they face Rob Edwards' team.

The Hornets have won seven and kept seven clean sheets in their last eight matches when up against the Blues, something John Eustace, former Watford captain will be looking to change.

  • Team news

Birmingham City

Harlee Dean and Adan George have been sidelined through leg and ACL injuries respectively and will sit out for the game.

Gary Gardner and new signing Krystian Bielik are also expected to be absentees for the visit of Watford.

Central midfielder Ryan Woods is negotiating a transfer away from St. Andrew's, so academy graduate Alfie Chang should keep his place in midfield alongside Jordan James.

Watford

Watford have to deal with many absentees ahead of this clash. They will have to make do without Emmanuel Dennis,, who has joined Nottingham Forest on a permanent deal, while defender Samir has now also officially left the club.

Nigerian forward, Samuel Kalu will miss the match and should be out of first-team action for another few weeks and he will be joined on the sidelines by Tom Dele-Bashiru and Imran Louza.

Besides the injury concerns, Edwards will be out full-back Hassane Kamara who will miss the game due to suspension after being sent off last game against Burnley.

Recently, Watford announced the signing of Keinan Davis, who joins from Aston Villa - it is expected that he will be named in the match-day squad, and may make his debut for Watford against the Blues.

  • Likely lineups

Birmingham

Ruddy (GK), Roberts, Sanderson, Trusty, Colin, Chang, James, Bacuna, Placheta, Hogan, Deeney (3-5-2)

Watford

Bachmann (GK), Gaspar, Sierralta, Cathcart, Sema, Kayembe, Choudhury, Cleverley, Sarr, Pedro, Davis (3-4-1-2)

  • Key players

Troy Deeney

Troy Deeney will always be remembered fondly by the Watford fans as he spent 11 years at Vicarage Road. The Blues boss looks like he is going to build his team around the 34-year-old, and has given him the captain's armband.

Last season was Deeney's debut season for the club that he grew up supporting and the city where he was born. Deeney scored four times last year featuring 21 times.

If Birmingham want to climb up the table and stay well away from relegation this time around - Deeney will have to bring more goals to the table.

 

 

 

 

 

Embed from Getty Images

Daniel Bachmann

The Austrian Goalkeeper has made an impressive start to this season and has even won a player of the match, against Burnley.

Bachmann joined the Hornets in 2018 from Stoke City and since then has made 44 appearances for Watford.

Rob Edwards made the brave decision earlier this month, to give the 28-year-old the number one spot inside of the net, which meant that new signing Maduka Okoye was now back up.

In previous months - Manchester United were interested in the goalkeeper as they saw him as a good backup to David De Gea, but Watford rejected a loan and since then United have not reignited their interest.

 

Embed from Getty Images

  • Previous meetings

Watford boasts a superior record in the history of this fixture, claiming 22 wins from the last 48 meetings between the two sides. Birmingham have picked up a total of 17 wins in that time, while nine games have ended all square.

The last time these two teams faced each other was in 2021, at Vicarage Road where it ended 3-0 to the home team - with goals coming from Ken Sema, Nathaniel Chalobah and Andre Gray.

  • Match Details

Where is the game being played?

The game will be played at Birmingham's home ground, St. Andrew's.

What time is Kick-off?

The Kick-off is at 17:45 (BST) on Tuesday, August 16.

How can I watch

All UK-based and overseas Watford and Birmingham supporters will be able to tune in to the live video coverage of the Hornets' trip to Birmingham on the club's Hive Live streaming service.