Watford vs Cardiff: prediction and stats
ChampionshipRegular Season - 32Kick-off on February 16, 2027 at 07:45 PM (UTC)Vicarage Road, Watford
The Footlab AI model makes Cardiff the favourite at 54%, against 25% for a draw and 21% for Watford. The most likely score is 1-1. If Cardiff wins, the most likely score is 0-1.
Footlab AI's cards found the right outcome in 54.7% of the 2,495 matches already evaluated, against 33.3% for random guessing. See the measured accuracy
Probabilities recomputed on Oct 16, 2026. The full match card is recomputed continuously until kick-off.
Who will win Watford vs Cardiff?
Cardiff starts as the favourite with a 216-point Elo edge (2,015 vs 1,799).
Computed by the Footlab AI model from our own data only, with no AI analysis.
Probable lineup for Watford vs Cardiff
Computed by Footlab AI from our own data only: recent lineups, squads and known absences. It does not take the press or last-minute absences into account.
Watford
4-2-3-1- 9L. Kjerrumgaard
- 5H. Kyprianou
- 39E. Kayembe
- 17Iker Bravo
- 7O. Maamma
- 20M. Doumbia
- 6M. Pollock
- 23O. Traoré
- 4K. Keben
- 33J. Zemura
- 1F. Ravaglia
Cardiff
4-2-3-1- 9Y. Salech
- 18A. Robertson
- 11O. Tanner
- 8J. Moylan
- 27J. Colwill
- 45Cian Ashford
- 38P. Ng
- 3J. Bagan
- 4G. Osho
- 48D. Lawlor
- 1N. Trott
Computed on October 16, 2026 at 09:39 PM (UTC).
What is the recent form of both teams?
Over their last 15 matches in all competitions, Watford have 4 wins, 3 draws and 8 defeats; Cardiff have 6, 4 and 5.
The competition is shown for every match: in pre-season, several of these games are friendlies.
| Date | Opponent | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 13, 2026 | Cardiff(away) | 1-5 | Championship |
| Oct 10, 2026 | Burnley(home) | 0-4 | Championship |
| Sep 18, 2026 | Bristol City(away) | 0-1 | Championship |
| Sep 12, 2026 | Stoke City(home) | 1-2 | Championship |
| Sep 8, 2026 | Preston(home) | 2-1 | Championship |
| Date | Opponent | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 13, 2026 | Watford(home) | 5-1 | Championship |
| Oct 10, 2026 | Blackburn(away) | 1-2 | Championship |
| Sep 19, 2026 | Charlton(home) | 3-1 | Championship |
| Sep 12, 2026 | Bolton(away) | 0-1 | Championship |
| Sep 8, 2026 | Stoke City(home) | 1-1 | Championship |
What does the head-to-head say?
Across the last 6 meetings: 0 Watford wins, 2 draws, 4 Cardiff wins.
| Date | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|
| Oct 13, 2026 | Cardiff 5-1 Watford | Championship |
| Jan 14, 2025 | Cardiff 1-1 Watford | Championship |
| Dec 29, 2024 | Watford 1-2 Cardiff | Championship |
| Feb 3, 2024 | Watford 0-1 Cardiff | Championship |
| Oct 7, 2023 | Cardiff 1-1 Watford | Championship |
| Apr 19, 2023 | Watford 1-3 Cardiff | Championship |
How many goals should we expect?
Watford score 1.0 and concede 1.8 goals per match over their last 15; Cardiff score 2.3 and concede 1.5. The model gives a 53% probability of over 2.5 goals and 54% for both teams to score.
| Club | Goals scored / match | Goals conceded / match | Clean sheets | Both teams scored | Over 2.5 goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watford | 1.0 | 1.8 | 2 | 8/15 | 8/15 |
| Cardiff | 2.3 | 1.5 | 0 | 13/15 | 11/15 |
Over the last 15 matches in all competitions.
Where do both teams sit in the table?
Watford sit 22nd in Championship (8 points from 10 matches) and Cardiff sit 19th (10 points from 10 matches).
| # | Club | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Cardiff | 10 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 16 | 15 | 10 |
| 22 | Watford | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 19 | 8 |
A question about Watford vs Cardiff?
Ask Footlab AI: lineups, absences, player form, stats, how the match could unfold.
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How does Footlab AI compute this prediction?
The model combines both teams' Elo ratings (anchored by competition pool), their recent form weighted by opponent strength, home advantage and a Poisson matrix for scorelines. When bookmakers publish odds for the match, their consensus is built into the calculation: that is what proved most accurate on past matches. Its accuracy is measured continuously on the predictions actually published. Methodology and measured accuracy
Frequently asked questions
- Who is the favourite for Watford vs Cardiff?
- The Footlab AI model makes Cardiff the favourite at 54%, against 25% for a draw and 21% for Watford.
- Where and when is Watford vs Cardiff played?
- Watford vs Cardiff is played on February 16, 2027 at 07:45 PM (UTC) at Vicarage Road, in the Championship.
- Will there be over 2.5 goals?
- The Footlab AI model gives a 53% probability of at least three goals in this match.
- How reliable is this prediction?
- Footlab AI's cards found the right outcome (home win, draw or away win) in 54.7% of the matches already evaluated, against 33.3% for random guessing, a level comparable with the bookmakers' favourite. The comparison with bookmakers and the breakdown by competition and Elo gap are published on the accuracy page.