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

Looking to nurture their newly-found spot in the top six, Watford welcome Birmingham City to Vicarage Road in the Championship on New Year's Day.

The Hornets' impressive form continued at the home of Norwich City earlier in the week, whilst Blues battled to a point at home with Southampton.

Match preview

Since losing 2-1 at St Andrew's @ Knighthead Park to Birmingham on December 1, Watford have collected more points than any other side in the Championship, currently in the midst of a six-game unbeaten run (W4 D2).

The in-form Hornets recorded three straight league wins for the first time since August 2024 to conclude a productive December schedule, with a late Vivaldo Semedo goal securing maximum points at Norwich on Monday night.

Losing just one of their last 12 matches under the expert tutelage of Javi Gracia, Watford have jumped up to sixth spot in the Championship standings, now only five points behind second-placed Middlesbrough.

A solid foundation for their impressive record of late, the Hornets are unbeaten across their last nine matches at Vicarage Road, with only Coventry City collecting more home points than the Hertfordshire outfit so far.

Short-term form and long-term records point towards a fourth straight success for Watford on New Year's Day, with the hosts winning each of their last six Championship home clashes with Birmingham by an aggregate scoreline of 12-0.

Battered in recent weeks by injuries and suspensions, a makeshift Birmingham City side picked up a point at home to Southampton on Monday night, although it could have been a victory if not for a controversial Cameron Archer equaliser.

Blues have drawn three straight home matches over the festive period and lost their last three away contests, meaning that one of the pre-season promotion favourites are in the midst of a worrying six-game winless run.

Collecting just three points from an available 18 since the success over Watford on December 1, Chris Davies's troops have dropped to 15th in the Championship standings, seven points behind the Hornets in sixth.

Losing just one of their 12 home matches so far, Birmingham's struggles have nearly exclusively arrived on the road, with Blues winless across their last six second-tier outings, earning just the single point in that period.

As alluded to earlier, Birmingham have performed poorly at Vicarage Road over the past decade or so, with their most recent result at the home of the Hornets coming back in August 2011, when Adam Rooney and Chris Wood goals secured a 2-2 draw.

Watford Championship form: W D D W W W

Birmingham City Championship form: L L D L D D

Team News

Watford are faring well without the services of Mamadou Doumbia, who is currently on Africa Cup of Nations duty with Mali.

The Hornets have other issues to fight against at the top of the pitch, with Rocco Vata (hamstring) and Kwado Baah (hamstring) both sidelined.

Birmingham are unable to call upon the talents of Tommy Doyle and Christoph Klarer, with the pair serving suspensions for red cards picked up over the festive period.

There could be an fitness boost for Blues in the form of Alex Cochrane, who may be able to return at left-back from an ankle problem.

Davies has a headache on the left wing, with star attacker Demarai Gray likely to be out for the next two games with a calf injury.

Watford possible starting lineup:

Selvik; Ngakia, Pollock, Alleyne, Bola; Ince, Kyprianou, Louza, Maamma; Chakvetadze, Semedo

Birmingham City possible starting lineup:

Allsop; Sampsted, Neumann, Robinson, Cashin; Iwata, Leonard, Roberts, Stansfield, Koumas; Kyogo