The 2026/27 EFL Championship gets underway on 16 August with Watford hosting Southampton at Vicarage Road, kick off at 13:30 GMT. Both clubs arrive with promotion ambitions in a division stiffened by relegated Premier League sides including West Ham and Wolves, so there is real pressure to start well rather than spend October catching up. Southampton carry a four point deduction from last season's Spygate scandal into the opener, which makes three points here less of a bonus and more of a necessity. Watford, meanwhile, are beginning again under Alessio Dionisi and will want a home win to give his tenure some early ground to stand on.
Dionisi takes charge of his first Championship match after leaving Empoli while Tonda Eckert has had a few months to settle in after being made permanent in late 2025, so this is the first time the two have met on a touchline. That asymmetry matters: Eckert went through the second half of last season with a largely settled group, whereas Watford's 2025/26 campaign lurched through three managerial changes, meaning Dionisi has inherited a squad with no settled XI and no shared understanding of how he wants to play.
Team news widens that gap further, with Watford missing Travis Akomeah for six to eight weeks due to a partial foot tear, Jeremy Ngakia's hamstring being carefully managed and further question marks over J. Petris and Jordan Zemura. Southampton, by contrast, have Caspar Jander, Finn Azaz and Tom Fellows all available. Both sides are expected to line up in a 4-2-3-1: Watford likely going with Ravaglia, Traore, Pollock, Keben, Bola, Kyprianou, Louza, Baah, Bove, Bravo or Maamma and Kjerrumgaard, Southampton naming Peretz or Bazunu behind a side built around Azaz, Downes, Harwood-Bellis, Fellows, Dobbin, Downs and Larin.
The midfield contest between Imran Louza and Flynn Downes is probably where this game is decided. Louza and Mattie Pollock will sit in front of Watford's back four and try to deny Azaz the ball in the pockets he likes to receive in, Downes, for his part, wins second balls and screens Southampton's defence so that Azaz can pick up possession higher up the pitch without chasing it. If Southampton's wide players can get in behind Watford's patched up back line, the visitors are in a position to exploit it. Watford's best route into the game runs through Baah and Traore on the counter, with Kjerrumgaard asked to hold the ball and relieve pressure when it comes.
Southampton lead the all time record with 12 wins to Watford's nine across 31 meetings since 1999 and have not lost any of the last six, including wins of 1-0 and 3-2 and a 2-2 draw across Championship and FA Cup fixtures between 2023 and 2026, which is not a run either dressing room will be ignoring.
With Akomeah out and Ngakia's fitness uncertain, Watford's makeshift back line will be tested by Azaz and Fellows running in behind and Southampton can also match them aerially from set pieces through Harwood-Bellis and Downs. Eckert has the bench options to maintain that pressure for ninety minutes in a way Dionisi cannot yet match and the four point penalty makes a win imperative rather than merely desirable. Southampton 1-2.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
