Championship · 2025Sat, 18 Apr 2026, 14:00 UTCFull timeVicarage RoadFull-time recap

Watford

WDLDL
02Full-time recap

This page describes the completed match context. The result is not presented as a prior forecast.

This match

Match statistics

MetricWatfordSheffield United
Shots14 shots/match11 shots/match
Shots on target3 shots/match5 shots/match
Expected goals1.29 xG/match0.81 xG/match
Possession53%47%
Corners8 corners/match5 corners/match
Fouls11 fouls/match9 fouls/match

Every shot

Shot map

Every recorded shot, placed where it was taken and sized by its expected-goals value. Each team attacks towards its own end of the pitch.

Harrison Burrows · Sheffield United · 23′ · 0.01 xG · off target or blockedEdo Kayembe · Watford · 45′ · 0.01 xG · off target or blockedGustavo Hamer · Sheffield United · 50′ · 0.01 xG · off target or blockedPatrick Bamford · Sheffield United · 9′ · 0.02 xG · on targetNampalys Mendy · Watford · 24′ · 0.02 xG · off target or blockedHarrison Burrows · Sheffield United · 36′ · 0.02 xG · off target or blockedEdo Kayembe · Watford · 45′ · 0.02 xG · off target or blockedAndre Brooks · Sheffield United · 14′ · 0.03 xG · off target or blockedPatrick Bamford · Sheffield United · 17′ · 0.03 xG · on targetMark McGuinness · Sheffield United · 18′ · 0.03 xG · off target or blockedNestory Irankunda · Watford · 25′ · 0.03 xG · off target or blockedNestory Irankunda · Watford · 65′ · 0.03 xG · off target or blockedNestory Irankunda · Watford · 82′ · 0.03 xG · off target or blockedJames Abankwah · Watford · 43′ · 0.04 xG · off target or blockedMamadou Doumbia · Watford · 46′ · 0.04 xG · on targetMamadou Doumbia · Watford · 49′ · 0.04 xG · off target or blockedOthmane Maamma · Watford · 55′ · 0.04 xG · off target or blockedNestory Irankunda · Watford · 57′ · 0.05 xG · on targetAndre Brooks · Sheffield United · 7′ · 0.07 xG · on targetPatrick Bamford · Sheffield United · 50′ · 0.07 xG · goalSaba Goglichidze · Watford · 68′ · 0.08 xG · on targetMamadou Doumbia · Watford · 39′ · 0.15 xG · off target or blockedAndre Brooks · Sheffield United · 35′ · 0.22 xG · off target or blockedPatrick Bamford · Sheffield United · 59′ · 0.27 xG · goalEdo Kayembe · Watford · 45′ · 0.36 xG · off target or blocked
  • off target
  • on target
  • goal
  • penalty
  • size = xG

Watford: 14 shots, 3 on target, 0.94 xG. Sheffield United: 11 shots, 5 on target, 0.78 xG.

How the match built

Expected-goals timeline

Expected goals accumulated minute by minute. Circles mark the goals that were actually scored.

00.510′HT90′Patrick Bamford · Sheffield United · 50′Patrick Bamford · Sheffield United · 59′

The step line is cumulative expected goals; circles mark goals. Final: Watford 0.94 xG · Sheffield United 0.78 xG.

30-second read

What the record shows

The clearest recorded pattern is: Watford's last-five goals scored average is below their season average. A second useful context is: Sheffield United's away-only shot average is below their full-season average. Limitation: Recent samples and important metric coverage meet the strong evidence threshold.

Watford's recent record differs from the season

moderate

Watford's last-five goals scored average is below their season average.

0.4 goals/matchGoals forLast 5 · Season1.21 goals/match
Evidence and caveat

Comparison: An unweighted last-five average is compared with the unweighted season average.

Window: last_5 versus season

MetricLast 5SeasonBaseline
Goals for0.4 goals/match1.21 goals/match1.26 goals/match

Caveat: Five matches are sensitive to opponent mix and isolated match states.

Sheffield United have a visible away split

moderate

Sheffield United's away-only shot average is below their full-season average.

11.3 shots/matchShotsAway only · Season13.4 shots/match
Evidence and caveat

Comparison: Venue-only shot volume is compared with the same team's season record.

Window: away

MetricAway onlySeasonBaseline
Shots11.3 shots/match13.4 shots/match12.3 shots/match

Caveat: Venue splits can reflect opponent mix and should be read with the listed sample.

History

Head-to-head

Recent meetings between these teams — history, not a forecast.

0Watford
0Draws
1Sheffield United
Sheffield UnitedWatford · Championship10

Metric comparison

Values, percentiles and samples

Where the edge is

Watford favored in 4 of 14 directional metrics · Sheffield United in 3 · 7 too close

1.21 goals/matchGoals scoredseason · 43/431.42 goals/match
1.23 goals/matchGoals allowedseason · 43/431.37 goals/match
1.24 xG/matchExpected goalsseason · 43/431.52 xG/match
1.13 xG/matchExpected goals allowedseason · 43/431.18 xG/match
14.1 shots/matchShotsseason · 43/4213.4 shots/match
11.3 shots/matchShots allowedseason · 43/4212.4 shots/match
4.51 shots/matchShots on targetseason · 43/424.21 shots/match
3.86 shots/matchShots on target allowedseason · 43/424.19 shots/match
51.8%Possessionseason · 43/4251.7%
5.12 corners/matchCornersseason · 43/426.76 corners/match
5.16 corners/matchCorners allowedseason · 43/424.98 corners/match
Cardsseason · 0/0
10.8 fouls/matchFoulsseason · 42/4110.5 fouls/match
Passesseason · 0/0
Pass accuracyseason · 0/0
Shots inside boxseason · 0/0
Blocked shotsseason · 0/0
Goalkeeper savesseason · 0/0
Offsidesseason · 0/0
16%Clean-sheet frequencyseason · 43/4323%
72%Scoring frequencyseason · 43/4374%

Style profile

How the teams compare

Competition percentiles describe recorded style; they do not rank likely outcomes.

Possession control

Relative share of recorded possession within the competition.

Watford64.6
Sheffield United56.2
0–100 competition percentile · coverage 98%

Attacking volume

Recorded shot and scoring volume, expressed as competition percentiles.

Watford68
Sheffield United70.2
0–100 competition percentile · coverage 98%

Defensive resistance

Lower recorded scoring and shot allowance produces a higher descriptive percentile.

Watford63.2
Sheffield United32.6
0–100 competition percentile · coverage 98%

Directness proxy

Shots per possession point; a descriptive transition/directness proxy, not an outcome score.

Watford85.4
Sheffield United64.6
0–100 competition percentile · coverage 98%

Physicality

Recorded fouls and cards relative to competition peers.

Watford64.6
Sheffield United39.6
0–100 competition percentile · coverage 48%

Set-piece relevance

Corner volume relative to competition peers.

Watford47.9
Sheffield United93.8
0–100 competition percentile · coverage 98%

Tempo and pressure proxy

Combined event-volume percentiles for shots, corners and fouls.

Watford68.7
Sheffield United68.8
0–100 competition percentile · coverage 97%

Recent form

Season, last 10 and last 5

Window

Last 5

5 / 5 matches
0.4 goals/matchGoals scored5/51.6 goals/match
1.4 goals/matchGoals allowed5/51.4 goals/match
0.77 xG/matchExpected goals5/51.71 xG/match
14 shots/matchShots5/516.2 shots/match
4.2 shots/matchShots on target5/56 shots/match
56.2%Possession5/555%
8 corners/matchCorners5/57.4 corners/match
Cards0/0
12.6 fouls/matchFouls5/58.2 fouls/match

Window

Last 10

10 / 10 matches
0.9 goals/matchGoals scored10/101.4 goals/match
1.5 goals/matchGoals allowed10/101.3 goals/match
1.23 xG/matchExpected goals10/101.45 xG/match
13.9 shots/matchShots10/1013.9 shots/match
4.2 shots/matchShots on target10/104.4 shots/match
52.8%Possession10/1053.9%
6.1 corners/matchCorners10/105.7 corners/match
Cards0/0
12 fouls/matchFouls10/109.3 fouls/match

Window

Season

43 / 43 matches
1.21 goals/matchGoals scored43/431.42 goals/match
1.23 goals/matchGoals allowed43/431.37 goals/match
1.24 xG/matchExpected goals43/431.52 xG/match
14.1 shots/matchShots43/4213.4 shots/match
4.51 shots/matchShots on target43/424.21 shots/match
51.8%Possession43/4251.7%
5.12 corners/matchCorners43/426.76 corners/match
Cards0/0
10.8 fouls/matchFouls42/4110.5 fouls/match

Venue split

Home and away samples

Window

Home team at home / away team away

22 / 22 matches
1.36 goals/matchGoals scored22/221.18 goals/match
1.05 goals/matchGoals allowed22/221.45 goals/match
1.4 xG/matchExpected goals22/221.25 xG/match
15.9 shots/matchShots22/2111.3 shots/match
5.45 shots/matchShots on target22/213.52 shots/match
51.9%Possession22/2146.6%
5.64 corners/matchCorners22/215.86 corners/match
Cards0/0
10.9 fouls/matchFouls22/2110.8 fouls/match

Schedule context

Rest and recent workload

7 daysRest before fixtureprevious completed fixtures · 1/17 days
2 matchesMatches in previous 14 daysprevious completed fixtures · 1/12 matches

Evidence quality

How much supports this analysis

Grade A · Strong evidenceready
Season samples43 / 43home / away teams
Recent samples5 / 5last-five windows
FreshnessLess than one dayfrom nearest prior match
  • Recent samples and important metric coverage meet the strong evidence threshold.

Known unknowns

  • Lineups, injuries, suspensions and tactical changes are not available in the retained dataset.
  • Some metrics are unavailable or below their observation minimum: cards.
Analysis cutoff: Sat, 18 Apr 2026, 18:00 UTC · analysis-v4

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