West Brom host Watford at The Hawthorns on 5 September 2026, four games into a Championship season where both clubs are still finding their feet under new managers. The hosts come in with the better of it: a W-D-L-L-W run across league and cup, beating Burnley early, drawing 1-1 with Charlton, falling 1-3 to Middlesbrough and then bouncing back, whereas Watford's W-D-D-L form (a win over Southampton, draws with Wrexham and West Ham, then a 0-2 loss to Swansea) leaves them needing to prove they can hold a shape against a side with real home confidence.
James Morrison and Alessio Dionisi haven't faced each other before. Morrison took charge on 30 April 2026, replacing Eric Ramsay, while Dionisi arrived on 15 June 2026 following Ed Still's departure and both are still getting to grips with squads that have been through several managerial changes in a short space of time.
The big West Brom absentee is Mikey Johnston, ruled out long term with a broken leg. He was Morrison's primary option to carry the ball into wide areas and force one on one situations and without him there is no obvious like for like replacement, so Morrison will have to lean more heavily on central creators to reach his forwards. Watford have it considerably worse: Kwadwo Baah is a doubt with a knock, Marc Bola is out with a hamstring injury, Jeremy Ngakia is sidelined with a thigh problem, Jack Grieves is short of fitness and Omar Traoré is reported unavailable. That is five players missing, three of them in or around the right side of defence, leaving Dionisi with a narrower shape than he would want and a back line already short on personnel.
West Brom tend to operate in a 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2, with full backs pushing forward when the double pivot holds its shape. Isaac Price is the engine of the midfield, a progressive passer who has already contributed goals and assists this season. Jimmy-Jay Morgan's movement is the main outlet for Price's forward passing and without Johnston occupying the left channel, those runs become more predictable for a defence to cover. Callum Styles plays as the more defensive of the two central players when the full backs push on and has already scored against Charlton, so Morrison has cover across the middle even with Johnston out.
Watford set up in a 4-2-3-1, with Hector Kyprianou sitting between the defence and the two attacking midfielders. With Bola and Ngakia both out, he is the primary cover if either full back is caught upfield. Amin Nabizada has been the most encouraging thing about their season so far, a forward who times runs well and has already found the net but Watford's wide options on the right are gone entirely and whoever fills in at full back is unlikely to get forward with any regularity, leaving Nabizada isolated when transitions break down and Kyprianou covering far more ground than is ideal. Getting the ball past Price and the double pivot before they reset is going to be Watford's central problem and if Kyprianou cannot get tight to Price quickly enough, Price will have time to play Morgan in behind, which is the move Watford most need to stop.
Across 50 meetings, West Brom lead with 20 wins to Watford's 16, with 13 draws. The most recent was West Brom's 3-0 victory in April 2026 and three of the last five have been decided by a single goal, which at least suggests Watford can stay in these games.
With Bola and Ngakia out, Watford's back line will lack its usual height on the left side and West Brom's shape, with Styles dropping to contest second balls, is built to exploit exactly that. West Brom also carry a collective resilience forged during a points deduction survival under Morrison last season. Nabizada remains Watford's most dangerous player and could still nick something if West Brom's centre backs lose concentration but five absentees, three of them in or around the right side of defence, is too much to paper over in a fixture like this.
West Brom 3-1 Watford. Price sets the tempo from the base of midfield and probably gets an assist on the opener before half time, with Morgan the likely beneficiary. A second comes from a set piece or a counter involving Styles as Watford's defensive gaps widen. Nabizada pulls one back through sheer individual quality in the second half but West Brom have the depth, the home crowd and the cleaner squad to close it out.
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?.
