Watford vs Stoke City: prediction and stats
ChampionshipRegular Season - 7Kick-off on September 12, 2026 at 02:00 PM (UTC)Vicarage Road, Watford
The Footlab model makes Watford the favourite at 50%, against 27% for a draw and 23% for Stoke City. The most likely score is 1-1.
This model is measured at 53.9% 1X2 accuracy on a temporal hold-out, against 33.3% for random guessing. See the measured accuracy
Probabilities recomputed on Aug 23, 2026 — the full match card is recomputed continuously until kick-off.
Who will win Watford vs Stoke City?
A very open match: only 22 Elo points separate Watford (1,816) and Stoke City (1,794).
What is the recent form of both teams?
Over their last 15 matches in all competitions, Watford have 3 wins, 4 draws and 8 defeats; Stoke City have 4, 3 and 8.
The competition is shown for every match: in pre-season, several of these games are friendlies.
| Date | Opponent | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 22, 2026 | Wrexham(away) | 1-1 | Championship |
| Aug 16, 2026 | Southampton(home) | 2-1 | Championship |
| Aug 8, 2026 | Crawley Town(home) | 1-0 | League Cup |
| Jul 29, 2026 | Fiorentina(home) | 0-1 | Friendlies Clubs |
| Jul 25, 2026 | Hansa Rostock(home) | 3-0 | Friendlies Clubs |
| Date | Opponent | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 22, 2026 | Southampton(away) | 1-3 | Championship |
| Aug 15, 2026 | Swansea(home) | 1-2 | Championship |
| Aug 8, 2026 | Oldham(home) | 2-0 | League Cup |
| Aug 1, 2026 | Valencia(home) | 1-1 | Friendlies Clubs |
| Jul 28, 2026 | Everton(home) | 1-0 | Friendlies Clubs |
What does the head-to-head say?
Across the last 6 meetings: 2 Watford win(s), 2 draw(s), 2 Stoke City win(s).
| Date | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 14, 2026 | Stoke City 3-1 Watford | Championship |
| Dec 20, 2025 | Watford 1-0 Stoke City | Championship |
| Mar 1, 2025 | Stoke City 0-0 Watford | Championship |
| Aug 17, 2024 | Watford 3-0 Stoke City | Championship |
| Dec 29, 2023 | Watford 1-1 Stoke City | Championship |
| Aug 19, 2023 | Stoke City 1-0 Watford | Championship |
Last archived meeting: Stoke City vs Watford on Mar 14, 2026
How many goals should we expect?
Watford score 0.9 and concede 1.7 goals per match over their last 15; Stoke City score 1.1 and concede 1.6. The model gives a 45% probability of over 2.5 goals and 49% for both teams to score.
| Club | Goals scored / match | Goals conceded / match | Clean sheets | Both teams scored | Over 2.5 goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watford | 0.9 | 1.7 | 3 | 7/15 | 8/15 |
| Stoke City | 1.1 | 1.6 | 3 | 9/15 | 6/15 |
Over the last 15 matches in all competitions.
Where do both teams sit in the table?
Watford sit 7th in Championship (4 points from 2 matches) and Stoke City sit 21st (0 points from 2 matches).
| # | Club | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Watford | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 4 |
| 21 | Stoke City | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
Verdict, probable XI and verified absences
The full match card recomputes this prediction continuously until kick-off: multi-market verdict, player-by-player probable XI and web-verified absences.
Open the full match card in the app
No odds, no affiliation: the method is published and the accuracy is measured.
How does Footlab 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. Its accuracy is measured continuously on the predictions actually published. Methodology and measured accuracy
Frequently asked questions
- Who is the favourite for Watford vs Stoke City?
- The Footlab model makes Watford the favourite at 50%, against 27% for a draw and 23% for Stoke City.
- Where and when is Watford vs Stoke City played?
- Watford vs Stoke City is played on September 12, 2026 at 02:00 PM (UTC) at Vicarage Road, in the Championship.
- Will there be over 2.5 goals?
- The Footlab model gives a 45% probability of at least three goals in this match.
- How reliable is this prediction?
- The Footlab model is measured at 53.9% correct 1X2 outcomes on a temporal hold-out, against 33.3% for random guessing. The breakdown by competition and Elo gap is published on the accuracy page.