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watford will look to record its first win in four matches when it hosts birmingham city at Vicarage Road on Tuesday night in the Championship in what is a pivotal game in the hosts’ season.

The playoff positions moved further away from the Hornets following a loss to Queens Park Rangers on Saturday, while Birmingham gave their survival goals a big boost by beating Rotherham United.

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He savage chris era at Watford got off to a less than ideal start on Saturday afternoon as the Hornets were beaten at Loftus Road by gareth ainsworthQPR side due to a first half Tim Iroegbunam goal.

Watford’s hierarchy, as always, have acted impulsively in the manager market this season in an attempt to sack a talented group of players, with the club now in its third boss of the campaign following the sackings of Rob Edwards and Bilic Slave.

Former Sheffield United man Wilder has promotion pedigree in the Championship, and only a repeat of his achievement with the Blades during the 2018-19 season is likely to keep the 55-year-old in Hertfordshire’s hot seat beyond of the conclusion of this campaign. .

The Hornets are currently 11th in the second-tier standings, and with six points separating them from sixth-placed Millwall, Wilder has a lot of work to do to ensure his team finish in the playoffs in May.

Despite the undoubted attacking power within their ranks, Watford have struggled to find the net of late, failing to score in their last three matches – fans will look to the likes of joao pedro and Keinan Davis to change the team’s offensive fortunes on Tuesday.

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Birmingham did much to ease any slight relegation fears this season at St Andrew’s on Saturday, with goals from Reda Khadra and kevin long securing a 2-0 win over Rotherham.

John Eustace opted for a back four to take on the Millers and the former Watford captain was rewarded for his bravery, with the wide pair of Tahith Chong and goalscorer Khadra gives Blues a constant attacking threat that is not always present when the team adopts a full-back system.

Saturday was a perfect day for the Segunda Ciudad club in terms of results, with three points against matthew taylorBlackpool’s men, Huddersfield Town and Wigan Athletic are accompanied by defeats, meaning Birmingham are now 10 points clear of the relegation zone with 10 games to play.

Although mathematical certainty won’t be assured until April at the earliest, Eustace will know deep down that his team only needs a few more points to maintain their second-tier status for another year, and that represents an achievement in a sense considering that the Blues were favorites to suffer relegation in August.

With parts of the St Andrew’s and Wast Hills training ground habitable, as well as with questionable ownership of the club coming under intense scrutiny by the EFL, the only form of stability over the past decade for the Bluenoses is for their team to play 46 championship football matches each season – something not to be taken for granted.

Watford Championship Form:

Birmingham City Championship Form:

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Watford have a long list of players in their medical room ahead of Birmingham’s visit, with hassane kamara and joao ferreira both sidelined due to hamstring injuries.

Francisco Sierralta will miss the remainder of the season with a broken ankle, and the right-back dan gosling He is not expected to return until after the international break due to an Achilles tendon injury.

Birmingham are hoping for a midfielder krystian bielik Available for selection at Vicarage Road: The Polish international was forced to retire against Rotherham after taking a nasty kick to the head in the first half.

Young jordan james replaced Bielik at double pivot for the Blues alongside the 20-year-old alfie changand could be another very youthful midfield for the visitors on Tuesday, especially with Juninho Bacuña serving the last game of his two-game suspension for receiving 10 yellow cards.

Eustace’s back four formation worked wonders against the Millers on Saturday, however the Blues boss will be wary of the Watford threat, with the prospect of switching to back five.

Troy Deeney remains out with a hamstring injury and joins Wolverhampton Wanderers on loan dion sanderson sidelined, and the centre-back is not expected to return before the end of the season due to a back problem.

Watford possible starting line-up:
Bachman; Porteous, Cathcart, Hoedt; Gaspar, Louza, Choudhury, Sema; Peter, Sarr, Davis

Possible Birmingham City starting line-up:
Ruddy; Colin, Dean, Long, Trustworthy; Bielik, Chang, Khadra, Hannibal, Chong, Jutkiewicz

We say: Watford 2-1 Birmingham City

Watford desperately need three points to keep their promotion hopes alive, and we await a response from the Hornets following their loss at QPR on Saturday.

Birmingham will be relaxed following their much-needed win over Rotherham and subsequent move away from the relegation zone, however we believe this could lead to a sub-par performance at Vicarage Road.

For data analysis of the most likely outcomes, scores and more for this match, click here.

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