Championship · 2025Thu, 1 Jan 2026, 15:00 UTCFull timeVicarage RoadFull-time recap

Watford

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30Full-time recap

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

This match

Match statistics

MetricWatfordBirmingham City
Shots13 shots/match6 shots/match
Shots on target6 shots/match2 shots/match
Expected goals1.56 xG/match0.4 xG/match
Possession45%55%
Corners4 corners/match4 corners/match
Fouls5 fouls/match14 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.

Luca Kjerrumgaard · Watford · 58′ · 0.02 xG · off target or blockedMarc Bola · Watford · 55′ · 0.03 xG · off target or blockedKeshi Anderson · Birmingham City · 76′ · 0.03 xG · off target or blockedVivaldo · Watford · 90′ · 0.03 xG · on targetKyogo Furuhashi · Birmingham City · 10′ · 0.04 xG · on targetLuca Kjerrumgaard · Watford · 57′ · 0.04 xG · off target or blockedEiran Cashin · Birmingham City · 82′ · 0.04 xG · off target or blockedNestory Irankunda · Watford · 79′ · 0.05 xG · off target or blockedMarc Bola · Watford · 29′ · 0.06 xG · off target or blockedPatrick Roberts · Birmingham City · 47′ · 0.08 xG · on targetPatrick Roberts · Birmingham City · 40′ · 0.09 xG · off target or blockedPatrick Roberts · Birmingham City · 44′ · 0.12 xG · off target or blockedTom Ince · Watford · 60′ · 0.12 xG · goalOthmane Maamma · Watford · 67′ · 0.12 xG · on targetTom Ince · Watford · 38′ · 0.15 xG · on targetTom Ince · Watford · 19′ · 0.16 xG · off target or blockedMarc Bola · Watford · 57′ · 0.16 xG · off target or blockedTom Ince · Watford · 38′ · 0.23 xG · goalTom Ince · Watford · 9′ · 0.44 xG · goal
  • off target
  • on target
  • goal
  • penalty
  • size = xG

Watford: 13 shots, 6 on target, 1.61 xG. Birmingham City: 6 shots, 2 on target, 0.40 xG.

How the match built

Expected-goals timeline

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

0120′HT90′Tom Ince · Watford · 9′Tom Ince · Watford · 38′Tom Ince · Watford · 60′

The step line is cumulative expected goals; circles mark goals. Final: Watford 1.61 xG · Birmingham City 0.40 xG.

30-second read

What the record shows

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

Birmingham City's recent record differs from the season

moderate

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

0.6 goals/matchGoals 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/match1.34 goals/match

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

Birmingham City have a visible away split

strong

Birmingham City's away-only shot average is below their full-season average.

9.75 shots/matchShotsAway only · Season14.4 shots/match
Evidence and caveat

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

Window: away

MetricAway onlySeasonBaseline
Shots9.75 shots/match14.4 shots/match12.4 shots/match

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

Recent scheduling adds useful context

moderate

A compressed recent schedule is recorded for Watford, Birmingham City.

2.8 daysRest daysWatford · Birmingham City2.78 days
Evidence and caveat

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

Window: previous 14 days

MetricWatfordBirmingham CityBaseline
Rest days2.8 days2.78 days
Matches last 14 days3 matches3 matches

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

History

Head-to-head

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

0Watford
0Draws
1Birmingham City
Birmingham CityWatford · Championship21

Metric comparison

Values, percentiles and samples

Where the edge is

Watford favored in 5 of 14 directional metrics · Birmingham City in 4 · 5 too close

1.48 goals/matchGoals scoredseason · 25/251.28 goals/match
1.16 goals/matchGoals allowedseason · 25/251.36 goals/match
1.35 xG/matchExpected goalsseason · 25/251.49 xG/match
1.02 xG/matchExpected goals allowedseason · 25/251.08 xG/match
13.8 shots/matchShotsseason · 25/2414.4 shots/match
11.6 shots/matchShots allowedseason · 25/249.92 shots/match
4.76 shots/matchShots on targetseason · 25/243.83 shots/match
3.48 shots/matchShots on target allowedseason · 25/243.5 shots/match
51.2%Possessionseason · 25/2455.9%
4.44 corners/matchCornersseason · 25/245.5 corners/match
5.16 corners/matchCorners allowedseason · 25/244 corners/match
Cardsseason · 0/0
11 fouls/matchFoulsseason · 24/2411.3 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 · 25/2520%
84%Scoring frequencyseason · 25/2576%

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.

Watford52.1
Birmingham City85.4
0–100 competition percentile · coverage 96%

Attacking volume

Recorded shot and scoring volume, expressed as competition percentiles.

Watford78.5
Birmingham City59.7
0–100 competition percentile · coverage 97%

Defensive resistance

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

Watford77.1
Birmingham City69.5
0–100 competition percentile · coverage 97%

Directness proxy

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

Watford81.2
Birmingham City56.2
0–100 competition percentile · coverage 96%

Physicality

Recorded fouls and cards relative to competition peers.

Watford60.4
Birmingham City79.2
0–100 competition percentile · coverage 48%

Set-piece relevance

Corner volume relative to competition peers.

Watford14.6
Birmingham City77.1
0–100 competition percentile · coverage 96%

Tempo and pressure proxy

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

Watford58.3
Birmingham City72.9
0–100 competition percentile · coverage 96%

Recent form

Season, last 10 and last 5

Window

Last 5

5 / 5 matches
1.8 goals/matchGoals scored5/50.6 goals/match
0.6 goals/matchGoals allowed5/51.8 goals/match
1.07 xG/matchExpected goals5/51.39 xG/match
11.2 shots/matchShots5/516.4 shots/match
3.8 shots/matchShots on target5/54.2 shots/match
45.4%Possession5/552.6%
4.2 corners/matchCorners5/56.4 corners/match
Cards0/0
7.6 fouls/matchFouls5/512.6 fouls/match

Window

Last 10

10 / 10 matches
1.8 goals/matchGoals scored10/101.2 goals/match
1.1 goals/matchGoals allowed10/101.7 goals/match
1.36 xG/matchExpected goals10/101.51 xG/match
14.2 shots/matchShots10/1015 shots/match
4.7 shots/matchShots on target10/104.1 shots/match
52.1%Possession10/1054.3%
4.9 corners/matchCorners10/105.5 corners/match
Cards0/0
10 fouls/matchFouls10/1011.5 fouls/match

Window

Season

25 / 25 matches
1.48 goals/matchGoals scored25/251.28 goals/match
1.16 goals/matchGoals allowed25/251.36 goals/match
1.35 xG/matchExpected goals25/251.49 xG/match
13.8 shots/matchShots25/2414.4 shots/match
4.76 shots/matchShots on target25/243.83 shots/match
51.2%Possession25/2455.9%
4.44 corners/matchCorners25/245.5 corners/match
Cards0/0
11 fouls/matchFouls24/2411.3 fouls/match

Venue split

Home and away samples

Window

Home team at home / away team away

13 / 13 matches
1.77 goals/matchGoals scored13/130.62 goals/match
0.92 goals/matchGoals allowed13/131.77 goals/match
1.61 xG/matchExpected goals13/130.92 xG/match
16.5 shots/matchShots13/129.75 shots/match
5.92 shots/matchShots on target13/122.17 shots/match
52.2%Possession13/1255.3%
5.15 corners/matchCorners13/124.75 corners/match
Cards0/0
10.5 fouls/matchFouls13/1211.4 fouls/match

Schedule context

Rest and recent workload

2.8 daysRest before fixtureprevious completed fixtures · 1/12.78 days
3 matchesMatches in previous 14 daysprevious completed fixtures · 1/13 matches

Evidence quality

How much supports this analysis

Grade A · Strong evidenceready
Season samples25 / 25home / 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: Thu, 1 Jan 2026, 19:00 UTC · analysis-v4

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