Watford vs Burnley: EFL Championship Big Guns Go Head to Head

Friday 12th August - 20:00

Two sides relegated from the Premier League last season go head to head in a genuinely juicy EFL Championship clash on Friday night. Watford and Burnley, both under new managers, are among the favourites to secure promotion back to the top tier and have both made solid starts to their latest campaigns.

When it comes to EFL Championship betting, there is always the temptation to keep things simple and backing sides that are relegated from the Premier League to make an instant return is arguably as safe a bet as you can make. But what do you do when they go head to head?

Hornets Looking to Buzz Back

Rob Edwards, who took over as Hornets boss after a strong spell at Forest Green Rovers, has helped Watford to four points from their opening two fixtures, which both came against genuine promotion chasers in the form of Sheffield United and West Brom and Burnley’s visit to Vicarage Road will offer another big test for the club.

Edwards will hope that he can get to the end of the transfer window without any of his big stars leaving, though, by all accounts, Ismaila Sarr could be on his way to Leeds United, this after the talented forward scored from his own half in their recent draw at West Brom.

Significant Changes at Turf Moor

Watford managed to hold on to their top talents, and that is as good as spending considerable sums on new arrivals; the same can not be said for Vincent Kompany’s Burnley. The Belgian, who joined the Turf Moor side after two years in charge of Anderlecht, saw Dwight McNeil and James Tarkowski join Everton, Nathan Collins moved to Wolves, Maxwel Cornet joined West Ham, and Ben Mee departed for Brentford. 

These were just a few of the big names to leave, and that will have shook Burnley, who brought in a number of additions but arguably not in the same league as the talents who left the club.

Nonetheless, the Clarets have started the season with four points from two games, winning away at Huddersfield before drawing at home to Luton Town. 

Getting Kompany to take the reins at Burnley was simultaneously a bold move and one that could still backfire. With not a lot of managerial experience, you could be led to believe that the appointment is something of a risk, but then you have to factor in that as a player, the centre-back was a winner and has the big-name pull that could help to attract additional players before the transfer window slams shut at the end of the month.

Burnley has made big sums from the players they’ve allowed to leave, and Kompany must have the funds to bring in a big name or two. 

Best Bets

Back the Draw 9/4

This game has stalemate written all over it, and frankly, this bet is a no-brainer; we’d even suggest going for a goalless draw as both teams have started the season in a very sedate fashion and have strong defensive lines. 

On the whole, a draw for either team would be welcomed, and as such, this is a bet that could go well as part of a larger accumulator, with the draw helping to boost your overall prospective winnings.