Preview: Bristol City vs Watford - prediction, team news, lineups

FA Cup action returns this weekend as Bristol City welcome Watford to Ashton Gate in the third round of the competition.

The hosts followed up a 5-0 Championship win with a frustrating 2-0 home defeat to Preston North End last time out, while the Hornets opened the year with a 3-0 victory over Birmingham City before their next fixture was postponed.

Match preview

Bristol City have been on an inconsistent run over the New Year period, winning and losing twice in their last four league matches.

Despite that, Gerhard Struber has enjoyed a largely successful start to life in the South-West, with the Robins firmly in the playoff mix and sitting just two points off sixth place.

Starting 2026 with a 5-0 thrashing against Portsmouth, Bristol City failed to make it two wins in a row after losing 2-0 to promotion rivals Preston North End, highlighting their inconsistency that has seen them move up and down the table throughout the season.

Attention now turns to the FA Cup, a competition they reached the final of back in 1909, but one which they have not progressed beyond the fifth round in since 2018-19.

The Robins will be hoping for a stronger cup run than they managed in this season's League Cup, after being knocked out by Fulham in Round Two.

Reaching the FA Cup final in 2019, Watford have only advanced from round three once since, and they will be out to improve that record on Saturday.

Javi Gracia's men come into this one with a longer break than anticipated behind them, after their away game against Hull City was postponed due to bad weather.

Their form has changed for the better since rehiring their former manager to replace Paulo Pezzolano, with Gracia boasting a 50% win rate from his 16 games back in the Watford dugout.

The impressive run has seen Watford quickly advance up the table and move into the Championship's top six, with the Hornets gaining 41 points from their 25 league outings.

Prior to the postponement, a Tom Ince hat-trick got Saturday's visitors off to the best start on New Year's Day, momentum they hope they can transform into a cup run.

This will be the second time the pair have met this season, with the points being shared in a 1-1 draw last time out.

Bristol City form (all competitions):

L W W L W L

Watford form (all competitions):

D D W W W W

Team News

With a top-six push still a priority, Struber may choose to rotate his side for the cup tie.

Sam Morsy was announced as their first signing of the January transfer window and could come in for his first start.

They will however remain without a number of first-team players, with Fally Mayulu, Radek Vitek, Luke McNally, Max Bird, Mark Sykes and Joe Williams all expected to miss out.

It will be 10 days since Watford were last in action, giving Gracia a fresh squad ahead of this one.

However, Mamadou Doumbia remains away with Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations and will be unavailable for selection.

Hamstring injuries to Rocco Vata and Kwadwo Baah mean they will also miss the FA Cup tie.

Bristol City possible starting lineup:

O'Leary; Pring, Roberts, Atkinson; Hirakawa, Randell, Morsy, N. Borges; Twine, Armstrong, Bell

Watford possible starting lineup:

Baxter; Abankwah, Pollock, Alleyne, Bola; Sissoko, Mendy; Maamma, Irankunda, Ince; Kjerrumgaard

We say: Bristol City 3-2 Watford

Evenly matched in the league, separated by two points, this is a hard one to call.

Bristol City's home form has improved in recent weeks and we think that gives them the edge and expect them to progress to the next round with a narrow victory.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.