Championship · 2025Deepdale

Preston North End 2–2 Watford · Championship

2–2Historical match

Watford

DDLDL

A completed match from a finished season. This page is the record of what happened.

Match at a glance

Preston North End and Watford drew 2–2.

Shots
820
Shots on target
35
Expected goals
0.650.91
Possession
51%49%

Full time

What the match recorded

Preston North End and Watford drew 2–2. Recorded in this match (Preston North End – Watford): shots 8–20, shots on target 3–5, expected goals 0.65–0.91, possession 51%–49%. This is what was recorded. It is not a claim that the result was foreseeable.

Pre-match record

What the data showed before kick-off. Kept for reference; it did not know the result.

Watford's recent record differs from the season

moderate

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

0.6 goals/match ▲Goals forLast 5 · Season1.28 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 for0.6 goals/match1.28 goals/match1.33 goals/match

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

Recent scheduling adds useful context

weak

A compressed recent schedule is recorded for Watford.

7 days ▲Rest daysPreston North End · Watford7.1 days
Evidence and caveat

Comparison: Rest days and completed matches in the prior 14 days are shown directly.

Window: previous 14 days

MetricPreston North EndWatfordBaseline
Rest days7 days7.1 days—
Matches last 14 days2 matches3 matches—

Caveat: The database does not describe travel, rotation decisions or player-level workload.

Watford show a distinct attacking-volume record

weak

Watford's shot volume and the opposing shot-allowance context sit above their competition baselines.

10.8 shots/match ▲ShotsPreston North End · Watford14 shots/match
Evidence and caveat

Comparison: Team shot volume is paired with the opponent's recorded shot allowance.

Window: season

MetricPreston North EndWatfordBaseline
Shots10.8 shots/match14 shots/match12.4 shots/match
Shots against14 shots/match11 shots/match12.3 shots/match

Caveat: Shot volume describes activity; it does not establish finishing quality or a match outcome.

This match

Match statistics

  • Shots8 shots20 shotsPreston North End 8 shots, Watford 20 shots
  • Shots on target3 shots5 shotsPreston North End 3 shots, Watford 5 shots
  • Expected goals0.65 xG0.91 xGPreston North End 0.65 xG, Watford 0.91 xG
  • Possession51%49%Preston North End 51%, Watford 49%
  • Corners9 corners7 cornersPreston North End 9 corners, Watford 7 corners
  • Fouls8 fouls6 foulsPreston North End 8 fouls, Watford 6 fouls

Every shot

Shot map

Every recorded shot, placed where it was taken and sized by its expected-goals value. Arrows show each team’s attacking direction.

Imrân Louza · Watford · 43′ · 0.01 xG · on targetJames Abankwah · Watford · 48′ · 0.01 xG · off target or blockedEdo Kayembe · Watford · 73′ · 0.01 xG · off target or blockedOthmane Maamma · Watford · 87′ · 0.01 xG · off target or blockedEdo Kayembe · Watford · 47′ · 0.02 xG · off target or blockedLewis Dobbin · Preston North End · 53′ · 0.02 xG · off target or blockedFormose Mendy · Watford · 74′ · 0.02 xG · off target or blockedKwadwo Baah · Watford · 77′ · 0.02 xG · off target or blockedOthmane Maamma · Watford · 89′ · 0.02 xG · off target or blockedFormose Mendy · Watford · 69′ · 0.03 xG · off target or blockedKwadwo Baah · Watford · 84′ · 0.03 xG · off target or blockedStephen Mfuni · Watford · 87′ · 0.03 xG · off target or blockedMamadou Doumbia · Watford · 88′ · 0.03 xG · off target or blockedAlfie Devine · Preston North End · 2′ · 0.04 xG · off target or blockedMatthew Pollock · Watford · 11′ · 0.04 xG · off target or blockedMatthew Pollock · Watford · 73′ · 0.04 xG · off target or blockedOthmane Maamma · Watford · 18′ · 0.05 xG · on targetLewis Dobbin · Preston North End · 41′ · 0.05 xG · off target or blockedAlfie Devine · Preston North End · 51′ · 0.05 xG · on targetLuca Kjerrumgaard · Watford · 33′ · 0.07 xG · on targetMilutin Osmajić · Preston North End · 83′ · 0.07 xG · off target or blockedOthmane Maamma · Watford · 54′ · 0.09 xG · on targetOdeluga Offiah · Watford · 57′ · 0.11 xG · goalOthmane Maamma · Watford · 71′ · 0.11 xG · off target or blockedMilutin Osmajić · Preston North End · 70′ · 0.12 xG · goalOthmane Maamma · Watford · 55′ · 0.13 xG · goalKwadwo Baah · Watford · 85′ · 0.13 xG · off target or blockedJordan Storey · Preston North End · 90′ · 0.13 xG · off target or blockedLewis Dobbin · Preston North End · 19′ · 0.17 xG · goal
  • off target
  • on target
  • goal
  • penalty
  • size = xG

Preston North End: 8 shots, 3 on target, 0.65 xG. Watford: 21 shots, 6 on target, 1.01 xG.

How the match built

Expected-goals timeline

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

00.751.50′HT90′Lewis Dobbin · Preston North End · 19′Milutin Osmajić · Preston North End · 70′Othmane Maamma · Watford · 55′Odeluga Offiah · Watford · 57′

The step line is cumulative expected goals; circles mark goals. Final: Preston North End 0.65 xG · Watford 1.01 xG.

History

Head-to-head

Recent meetings between these teams.

Last 5 meetings

2Preston North End
2Draws
1Watford
Watford — Preston North End · Championship1–1
Watford — Preston North End · Championship1–2
Preston North End — Watford · Championship3–0
Watford — Preston North End · Championship0–0
Preston North End — Watford · Championship1–5

Head-to-Head & Recent Meetings

Metric comparison

Team comparison

Season averages, with the sample size beside each metric.

Where the edge is

Season: Preston North End favored in 2 of 11 directional metrics · Watford in 7 · 2 too close

led this metric higher value (descriptive) too close

Window

Season

Preston North End32 matchesWatford32 matches
1.25 goals/matchGoals scored32/321.28 goals/match
1.13 goals/match ▲Goals allowed32/321.19 goals/match
1.09 xG/matchExpected goals32/32▲ 1.24 xG/match
10.8 shots/matchShots31/32▲ 14 shots/match
3.58 shots/matchShots on target31/32▲ 4.5 shots/match
44.4%Possession31/32● 51.7%
4.16 corners/matchCorners31/32● 4.91 corners/match
10.5 fouls/matchFouls31/3110.4 fouls/match

Evidence quality

How much supports this analysis

Grade A · Strong evidenceStrong evidence — limited
Season samples32 / 32home / away teams
Recent samples5 / 5last-five windows
FreshnessLess than one dayfrom nearest prior match
  • The fixture is outside the configured active season.
  • 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.
  • The fixture season differs from the competition's configured active season.
Analysis cutoff: Sat, 14 Feb 2026, 19:00 UTC · analysis-v4

Team rankings in Championship

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