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Watford 2-1 Preston: result and stats, Championship

Matchday 6
FT
Watford crest
Watford
2 : 1
Preston crest
Preston
  • E. Kayembe69'
  • M. Doumbia76'
  • 5'C. Lang
Vicarage RoadFarai HallamCapacity 22,200Tue, 8 Sept 202620:45
Watford crest4-2-3-1
Line ups
5-3-2Preston crest
Referee Farai HallamReferee
Hallam
F. Ravaglia7.3
Ravaglia
O. H. Traore6.2
Traore
S. Coulibaly7.5
Coulibaly
M. Pollock6.9
Pollock
K. Keben6.2
Keben
H. Kyprianou6.3
Kyprianou
E. Kayembe8.2
Kayembe
R. Vata6.9
Vata
M. Payero6.5
Payero
A. Nabizada6.3
Nabizada
M. Doumbia6.9
Doumbia
D. Iversen5.6
Iversen
A. Vukcevic7.3
Vukcevic
L. Gibson7.2
Gibson
J. Storey6.9
Storey
O. Offiah6.7
Offiah
H. Clarke7.0
Clarke
A. Devine5.9
Devine
J. Thompson6.7
Thompson
L. Leroy6.5
Leroy
J. Kenny6.3
Kenny
C. Lang7.2
Lang
Charlie Daniels portrait
Assistant
Charlie Daniels
Stuart McCall portrait
Assistant
Stuart McCall

Substitutions

Unused

Substitutions

Unused

Home

  • T. Akomeah portraitWatford crest
    T. Akomeah
    Lacking Match Fitness
    Out
  • K. Baah portraitWatford crest
    K. Baah
    Knock
    Out
  • M. Boadu portraitWatford crest
    M. Boadu
    Injury
    Out
  • M. Bola portraitWatford crest
    M. Bola
    Hamstring Injury
    Out
  • J. Grieves portraitWatford crest
    J. Grieves
    Lacking Match Fitness
    Out
  • B. Mlacic portraitWatford crest
    B. Mlacic
    Inactive
    Out
  • J. Ngakia portraitWatford crest
    J. Ngakia
    Thigh Injury
    Out

Away

  • T. Carroll portraitPreston crest
    T. Carroll
    Ankle Injury
    Out
  • A. Hughes portraitPreston crest
    A. Hughes
    Inactive
    Out
  • A. McCann portraitPreston crest
    A. McCann
    Injury
    Out
  • B. Potts portraitPreston crest
    B. Potts
    Ankle Injury
    Out
Player of the match
Edouard Kayembe Kayembe headshot
Edouard Kayembe Kayembe
Midfielder · Watford
8.2
This match
Shooting1.5Finishing1.9Creativity5.5Passing7.8Involvement5.4Defending9.3Physical5.1Dribbling2.0
Attacking
Goals1
Assists0
Shots4
Shots on target2
Shot accuracy50%
Build-up
Passes47
Key passes2
Pass accuracy79%
Defending
Tackles1
Duels won4 · 40%
Fouls won/made1 / 0
This match · octagon = season skill index

Highest-rated players

Kayembe8.2Coulibaly7.5Ravaglia7.3Lang7.2Gibson7.2Vukčević7.3
Player
Federico RavagliaFederico RavagliaG511,91+0,9123/322/11
Daniel IversenDaniel IversenG321,02-0,9817/375/25
Watford crestLive statsPreston crest

Possession & Passing

61%Possession39%
526Total passes319
83%Pass accuracy76%
2Corners4

Attack

15Shots18
5On target6
7Off target6
3Blocked shots6

Box & Quality

11Shots in box10
4Shots out box8
1.3xG2.5
-1.0Goals prevented-1.0

Defense & Discipline

5Goalkeeper saves3
2Offsides1
7Fouls10
0Yellow cards2

Half by half

The same match, split at the break. Which half did each side actually win?

Watford crest

First half

Preston crest
0,59xG1,57
9Shots9
2On target4
1Big chances2
18Touches in box5
63%Possession37%
1Corners3
Watford crest

Second half

Preston crest
0,67xG0,87
6Shots9
3On target2
2Big chances1
16Touches in box11
59%Possession41%
1Corners1

xG analytics

TeamxGShotsSOTPoss
Watford crestWatford
1.2615861%
67% open play33% set piece
Preston crestPreston
2.48181239%
44% open play56% set piece

Expected goals weighs every shot by the historic conversion rate of similar chances. Higher xG means better scoring opportunities, regardless of whether they went in.

xG race

33 shots

Chance quality as it built up. A steep step is a big chance.

0,00,71,42,12,80'15'30'45'60'75'90'Callum Lang 5'Edo Kayembe 69'Mamadou Doumbia 76'Preston2,48 xGWatford1,26 xGCumulative expected goals per team over the match.
Watford crestWatford1,26 xG · 2 scoredPreston crestPreston2,48 xG · 1 scored

How those chances were made

Watford29
Open play 25Set piece 1Dribble 1Defensive 2
Preston35
Open play 29Set piece 3Dribble 1Rebound 2

Momentum

19 swings

Which side was on top, minute by minute. A taller bar is heavier pressure.

Callum Lang 5'Edo Kayembe 69'Mamadou Doumbia 76'0'15'30'45'60'75'90'WatfordPreston
Watford crestWatford65% pressurePreston crestPreston35% pressure

Match replay

91'
2-1
100%Draw 0%0%
1.26xG2.48
15Shots18
8On target12
Momentum
Iker Bravo portrait90' Saved Iker Bravo 0.02 xG

Shot map

15 v 18

Watford shoot right, Preston left. Bigger dot = better chance.

WATPREgoalsavedoff target

Goal mouth

20 on target · 3 scored

Where each shot on target crossed the line. Placement beats power.

Alfie Devine, 13', off targetOmar Traoré, 16', off targetLéo Leroy, 29', off targetRocco Vata, 38', off targetKévin Keben, 42', off targetEdo Kayembe, 45', off targetJohnny Kenny, 47', off targetJohnny Kenny, 49', off targetHarry Clarke, 53', off targetMatthew Pollock, 55', off targetCallum Lang, 73', off targetEdo Kayembe, 74', off targetMamadou Doumbia, 79', off target
WatfordPrestongoalsavedoff target

Average positions

Each starter's average position on the ball, with the number of those actions inside the chip. Both sides attack left to right. Tap a player to see where they actually were.

WatfordDefensive line 34%
35Vata34Payero43Ravaglia39Nabizada95Coulibaly77Biakolo62Traore51Doumbia67Kyprianou93Pollock81Kayembe
PrestonDefensive line 34%
64Iversen35Leroy36Vukčević30Kenny54Devine31Lang88Clarke78Gibson72Storey60Thompson70Offiah

An average, not a movement map: it says where a player's actions balanced out, not where they ran.

Passing network

Each player at his average position, sized by passes made. Lines join team-mates with 5 or more passes between them (fewer when a side made its first change early), thicker for more. Counted until each side's first substitution. Both sides attack left to right. Tap a player to isolate his links.

WatfordUntil 45'
63421539222311120

Most-connected pair: Pollock and Coulibaly, 29 passes between them.

PrestonUntil 66'
741924152714110338

Most-connected pairs: Gibson and Iversen and 2 others, 8 passes each.

Tactical battle

55control45
57%Field tiltField tilt 43%14Box entriesBox entries 78Passes into boxPasses into box 7
Stephy Mavididi
Stephy Mavididi
6 touches in box
Press10.2 · 13.9Territory57% · 43%Direct2.18 · 2.63Progress43 · 32Dribble7 · 7Creation29 · 35Threat1.31 · 1.19Recover9 · 7
Watford crest

In possession

Preston crest
56,9%Field tilt43,1%
8Passes into box7
29Progressive passes22
8Carries into final third8
9Chances created14

Field tilt is each side's share of play in the final third.

Watford crest

Out of possession

Preston crest
10,21Press intensity (PPDA)13,86
3High turnovers8
9Regains within 5s7
15,8sBall recovery time22,6s
14Interceptions19

↓ Lower is better, so the longer bar always wins. PPDA is opponent passes allowed per defensive action.

Watford crest

Carrying

Preston crest
89Carries84
980mCarry distance1060m
14Progressive carries10
590mProgressive carry distance551m
7Carries into the box1

Distances are how far the ball was moved forward, not how far anybody ran.

Watford crest

Beating the press

Preston crest
7Take-ons won7
16Take-ons attempted11
536mProgressive pass distance391m
0Through balls1
0Switches of play3

A take-on is a player going past an opponent with the ball at his feet.

Watford crest

Threat created

Preston crest
1,31Expected threat (xT)1,19
2,16Action value (VAEP)1,05
29Shot-creating actions35
4Goal-creating actions2
0,75Expected assisted goals1,35

xT values where a possession reached; VAEP values every action by how much it shifted the chance of a goal.

Watford crest

Tempo

Preston crest
4,0Passes per attack3,2
13,2sAttack duration10,2s
2,18 m/sAttack directness2,63 m/s
4Build-up attacks2
10Direct attacks7

An attack is direct when it moves upfield quickly rather than through many passes.

Watford crest

More match stats

Preston crest
Watford crest

Attack

Preston crest
34Touches in box16
57Final third entries61
3Big chances3
1,02xG on target1,91
1Big chances missed2
Watford crest

Passing

Preston crest
4/15 (27%)Crosses4/18 (22%)
19/65 (29%)Long balls17/57 (30%)
33Throw-ins28
10Free kicks7
10Goal kicks8
Watford crest

Duels

Preston crest
43Total57
25/55 (45%)Ground30/55 (55%)
14/36 (39%)Aerial22/36 (61%)
7/16 (44%)Dribbles7/10 (70%)
7Dispossessed5
Watford crest

Defending

Preston crest
41Recoveries42
7Interceptions12
8Tackles16
75%Tackles won50%
30Clearances42
2Big chances scored1
0Errors led to goal1
0Errors led to shot1
2Fouled in final third0
7,76Average rating6,81

Goal profile

This season

How often each side reaches a scoreline, across 10 matches each.

Watford crestShare of their matchesPreston crest

They score

60%1+ goal60%
20%2+ goals20%

They concede

100%1+ goal100%
40%2+ goals60%
20%3+ goals30%
20%4+ goals10%

Heaviest results

Watford crestbest 2-1 (H)·worst 0-4 (H)

Preston crestbest 2-1 (H)·worst 0-4 (A)

Match summary

Watford beat Preston 2-1 at Vicarage Road in the Championship. Preston led 1-0 at half-time, but Watford came from behind to win. Scorers: E. Kayembe (69'), M. Doumbia (76') for Watford; C. Lang (5') for Preston. In their last 12 meetings, Watford have won 4, Preston 3, with 5 drawn. Full match stats, lineups and player ratings are all on this page.

AI predictionProjected
Confidence 55%
WAT55%
X24%
PRE21%

→ Winner: Watford

Why this prediction

The factors the model weighed, each split between the two sides.

Watford crestShare per factorPreston crest
62%Form38%
44%Attack56%
62%Defence38%
78%Goal model (Poisson)22%
25%Head-to-head75%
33%Goals67%
51%Overall49%
Last 5 matches
Scored 4, conceded 6
Last 5 matches
Scored 5, conceded 10

Who will win?

Cast your vote!

Watford crestCompare teamsPreston crest
Team formsLatestPts
22
Watford crestWatford
LLLLW
8
24
Preston crestPreston
LLDLL
4
Prematch standings

Head-to-headLast 12 meetings

Watford crest4
Wins
5
Draws
3Preston crest
Wins
Show 6 earlier meetings
  • 16 Dec 2023Preston crest1 - 5Watford crestChampionship
  • 4 Mar 2023Watford crest0 - 0Preston crestChampionship
  • 20 Aug 2022Preston crest0 - 0Watford crestChampionship
  • 16 Feb 2021Preston crest0 - 1Watford crestChampionship
  • 28 Nov 2020Watford crest4 - 1Preston crestChampionship
  • 25 Aug 2015Preston crest1 - 0Watford crestLeague Cup
Full head-to-head →

Venue spotlight

Vicarage Road
Watford, England
22,200
Capacity