Watford don drift enter bottom half of Championship table, and dem face final wahala when dem go host Premier League-bound Coventry for Vicarage Road. Another managerial change dey come for Watford, as dem prepare to part ways with Ed Still at end of season. The Hornets don have three head coaches for this campaign, and dem lose confidence with Still, wey only get three wins for 14 matches.
Watford chase playoff place for much of season, but dem no don win since mid-March. Dem fit suffer dem lowest finish since 2004-05 campaign. While Hornets dey struggle, Coventry dey look forward to play Premier League football for first time since 2001. The Sky Blues don rack up 92 points and establish 11-point gap to second-placed Ipswich.
Watford go finish season without Hector Kyprianou (ankle) and Rocco Vata (hamstring), wey be long-term absentees. Head coach Ed Still fit choose to shake things up after last Saturday’s 5-1 loss at Middlesbrough. Giorgi Chakvetadze, Kwadwo Baah, Nestory Irankunda, Othmane Maama and Mamadou Doumbia dey among attacking players wey hope for return to starting line-up.
Visitors go miss influential midfielder Jack Rudoni (shoulder), wey miss second successive game. Oliver Dovin (knee), Miguel Brau (muscle strain) and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto (rib injury) also dey for Sky Blues’ treatment room. Watford don go seven games without winning. Hornets don concede at least two goals for five of dem last six games. Watford don fail to score for five of dem last nine home matches. Coventry dey unbeaten for dem last six away fixtures. Both teams don score for each of Coventry’s last three matches.
Coventry wrap up promotion with three games to spare, but dem continue to maintain high standards and fit finish campaign by defeating Watford for Hertfordshire. Intense summer dey on cards for Coventry, wey go anxious to build squad capable of top-flight survival. But several Sky Blues players go dey keen to show Frank Lampard say dem get wetin dem need to flourish at highest level.
Coventry had nothing tangible to play for for last Sunday’s fixture at home to promotion-chasing Wrexham, but dem compete at high level and run out 3-1 winners. There dey no let-up from Lampard’s side, and that make dem tough opponents for Watford, wey dey go through dem worst run of season. Hornets were humbled 5-1 at Middlesbrough last weekend, and dem fit struggle to avoid fifth straight defeat.
Championship winners Coventry City go wrap up memorable campaign with trip to Vicarage Road for Saturday’s meeting with Watford. Sky Blues go dey look to sign off by claiming dem 28th league win of season, while 16th-placed Watford go dey look to end dem six-game winless run. Watford dey on course for bottom-half finish after dem gamble to appoint Ed Still for February fail to pay off. Still take over when team dey 12th place and just three points adrift from playoffs, but dem don slip down to 16th and dey 13 points away from top six after winning just three of 35-year-old’s 14 games in charge.
Still’s side dey winless in seven matches and don lose each of dem previous four games, including heavy defeats for dem last two away outings. Hornets concede three without reply against West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns, before dem slump to demoralising 5-1 loss away to promotion hopefuls Middlesbrough last time out. As result of dem poor form, Watford dey expect to part ways with Still this summer, despite fact say he only sign two-and-a-half-year deal for February. Before he depart, Still go attempt to lead club to dem first victory over Coventry City since dem record 3-2 win at Vicarage Road for November 2020.
Coventry dey set to bring curtain down on wetin don be special season wey don see dem complete dem journey back to Premier League. Eight years after playing for League Two, Coventry secure promotion with 1-1 draw against Blackburn Rovers on April 17, before dem clinch title with dominant 5-1 victory over Portsmouth. Despite achieving dem objectives, Frank Lampard’s side refuse to take dem foot off gas for last Sunday’s home clash with Wrexham, wey see Brandon Thomas-Asante, Victor Torp and Ephron Mason-Clark all find net for 3-1 victory. That result represent club’s 17th home league win of season and move dem onto 92 points from 45 matches, 11 more than next-best tally of Ipswich Town.
Sky Blues dey comfortably division’s highest scorers with 93 goals, so dem go fancy dem chances of troubling Watford side wey don concede eight goals for dem last two games. Coventry get chance to complete dem first league double over Hornets for 21 years after run out 3-1 winners for October’s reverse fixture. Watford remain without long-term absentees Hector Kyprianou, Rocco Vata and Stephen Mfuni. Othmane Maama and Nestory Irankunda dey options to start final game of Championship season. Mamadou Doumbia fit also come into starting lineup if Still opt to alter im forward line.
As for league champions, dem no fit call upon Oliver Dovin, Miguel Brau and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto. Jack Rudoni go miss second consecutive game after recently undergo surgery on long-standing shoulder issue. Torp, Romain Esse and Ellis Simms fit all feature if Lampard decide to make changes for final outing of season. Having achieve dem objectives, Coventry fit lack intensity wey dem don show throughout season, but dem still go dey keen to sign off with win. Given dem attacking talent, we think Sky Blues go prove too strong for Watford side low on confidence following poor run of results.
Watford host Coventry City at Vicarage Road for Championship fixture wey carry very different weight for each side. For visitors, e be victory lap. For hosts, e be chance to salvage some pride from wretched run of form. Coventry arrive as confirmed Championship champions and Premier League-bound. Frank Lampard’s side clinch title with 5-1 demolition of Portsmouth and then lift trophy after beating Wrexham 3-1 last weekend. Sky Blues don be standout team for division all season, finishing with 92 points from 45 games and goal difference of +48. Watford’s season, by contrast, don collapse for alarming fashion. Hornets don lose dem last four Championship matches, shipping 10 goals for process, and sit 16th for table. 5-1 thrashing at Middlesbrough last Saturday be dem heaviest defeat of run, following losses to West Brom, Sheffield United, and Oxford.
Lampard don already turn im attention to summer transfer window, publicly warning say Coventry must act fast to avoid trap of immediate relegation on dem return to top flight. Manager’s ambition dey clear, and he go want im squad to finish season with professionalism intact. For Watford, there be little at stake for table, but visit of champions offer chance to end miserable sequence. Four straight defeats, conceding at least twice for each, tell im own story about where this squad dey right now.
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