Watford

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A new initiative highlighting the work of football club charities has been launched by the English Football League (EFL).

'Scan to Smile' will be rolled out in stadiums across the EFL from Friday until the end of January, with supporters invited to scan QR codes on posters displayed around grounds.

Each scan will unlock a short, uplifting story from a person whose life has been positively impacted by the support of their local club charity.

The subjects tackled include mental health support, combating loneliness, improving physical wellbeing, employability and confidence.

The EFL said it hoped the initiative would use "the reach and influence of football to offer fans a moment of positivity on matchday".

Trevor Birch, chief executive at the EFL, said: "Behind every club are people whose lives have been positively changed through the work and dedication of their local EFL club charity.

"This initiative gives supporters the chance to see that impact first-hand and reminds us that football truly is a force for good."

Blackburn Rovers' injury concerns meant they were forced to give first league starts to defender Connor O'Riordan, midfielder Brandon Powell and forward Aodhan Doherty in their 3-1 loss at Swansea on Tuesday.

Rovers are now in the relegation zone as they prepare to host a Watford side who could finish the weekend in the top six with a win at Ewood Park.

• After winning the reverse fixture 1-0 back in September last year, Blackburn Rovers will be looking to complete just a second league double over Watford after doing so in 1969-70.

• Watford have lost each of their past two league games against Blackburn Rovers. The Hornets have never lost three in succession in this fixture.

• So far during the 2025-26 Championship season, Blackburn have won just two of their 13 home league games (D4 L7), with only bottom side Sheffield Wednesday (0) managing fewer.

• Watford have won each of their past two away league games and will be looking to win three in succession on the road for the first time since December 2023, the third game of which was at Blackburn.

• Blackburn have won just one of their past 12 league games (D6 L5), and have conceded at least twice in all four so far in 2026 (D1 L3).

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Watford boss Javi Gracia spoke to BBC Three Counties Radio following their 1-1 draw with Portmsouth.

"I am very upset and disappointed not only for the draw but the way we competed after two bad results in the FA Cup and the last home game against Millwall," he said.

"I expected another kind of reaction and attitude. I didn't recognise my team.

"All the supporters could see we were playing in our own half, never trying to attack or play forward. That was not the objective that we are looking for in our work.

"We are competing against teams with more experience and are well-organised. We were defensively well-organised in the first half, trying to press high from the goal kick, try to stop them create from the defensive midfield. Defensively we were well, but offensively it was a disaster. It was not the way we want to play."

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All English Football League games across a four-day period in February will begin one minute late to raise awareness for the Every Minute Matters campaign.

The initiative will be in place for 36 matches across the Championship, League One and League Two between 5 and 9 February.

EFL sponsor Sky Bet and the British Heart Foundation (BHF) have been working together since May 2024 to highlight the importance of speed when it comes to performing live-saving CPR.

Later kick-off times will serve as "a stark reminder that every minute matters", the EFL said.

Bristol Rovers defender Tom Lockyer collapsed while playing for Luton Town eight minutes into the Championship play-off final against Coventry in May 2023.

Lockyer then suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch seven months later during a Premier League game at Bournemouth.

"What happened to me can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time," said Lockyer, who is now a BHF ambassador.

"Every year, more than 40,000 people in the UK suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and most of them never make it home.

"I'm here today because of the transformative power of CPR as every minute matters when it comes to saving a life.

"This February, we want everyone to get behind this life-saving initiative, learn the skills and be ready to step in because your actions could give someone else the chance I was given."

Throughout February, the Every Minute Matters campaign will call on fans to learn CPR using the BHF's online RevivR, external tool.

"Each minute without CPR reduces a person's chance of survival, so we're urging fans to learn the skills now, before you ever need them," said Dr Charmaine Griffiths, chief executive of the BHF.

EFL chief executive officer Trevor Birch added: "The one minute kick-off adjustment is a simple, powerful reminder that swift CPR can be the difference between life and death."

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Wealdstone have signed winger Michael Adu-Poku on a short-term loan from Championship neighbours Watford.

The 20-year-old has made three first-team appearances for the Hornets and spent last season on loan at National League sides Rochdale and Solihull Moors.

Adu-Poku spent part of this season on loan at League Two side Barrow, where he made eight appearances.

Image source, Opta

Portsmouth will seek to put space between themselves and the drop-zone when they head to Watford on Wednesday (19:45 GMT).

The Hornets are eighth, two points outside the play-off places after seeing their four-match winning streak ended by a 2-0 defeat to Millwall at Vicarage Road on Saturday. It was the first time in 17 games in all competitions in which they failed to score.

Pompey ended a 10-match winless away run with a 1-0 success at Sheffield Wednesday but will be seeking back-to-back wins for the first time this season.

• Watford are unbeaten in eight home league games against Portsmouth (W5 D3), winning the past four in a row.

• Portsmouth drew 2-2 with Watford in October, but these two sides haven't drawn both league meetings in a season since 1987/88.

• Watford are unbeaten in their past eight midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) league games (W4 D4) since a 0-4 defeat to Leeds United in February 2025.

• Portsmouth have lost 10 of their past 11 away league matches played in midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday), losing the last nine in a row since a 2-2 draw at Oxford United in January 2024.

• Portsmouth have only won one of their past 26 away games in the second tier against sides whose name begins with 'W' (D12 L13), beating Walsall 2-1 in April 2003.

Christian Fuller
Watford fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

Watford's winning streak has come to an end – with an all-too-obvious lack of firepower needing to be addressed in the January transfer window.

Prior to the Hornets' 2-0 defeat by fellow play-off hopefuls Millwall, Watford had won four league matches on the bounce.

Despite the defensive frailties highlighted in the loss – which followed a 5-1 FA Cup battering by Bristol City – it was the lack of a goal threat in both matches that caused concern.

Against the Robins, scoring responsibilities fell to Jack Grieves, who netted his first professional goal for the club, while the best chance of the game against Millwall fell to full-back Marc Bola.

It is wonderful to see an academy product score for the club but we should not have to rely on a 21-year-old to find the net.

Luca Kjerrumgaard is Watford's top goalscorer this season with seven league goals, making him the joint 20th highest scorer in the Championship.

While seven goals in 24 matches is not the worst return, the statistics are slightly dampened when you acknowledge the Danish striker has only scored in four games, having netted a double on three separate occasions.

Our striking options have been boosted with the return of Mamadou Doumbia from the Africa Cup of Nations, but a combined five goals between the Mali international and our other striking option Vivaldo Semedo is not enough.

It is hard not to reminisce about the days of Troy Deeney, Matej Vydra, Odion Ighalo or Danny Graham, who you would bank on reaching a healthy goal tally in any given season.

And that is why it is time to dip into the transfer market for an out-and-out goalscorer – whether it is a short-term fix in the form of a loan deal for an under-appreciated Premier League player, taking a punt on someone from abroad or even raiding the lower leagues for an in-form striker looking for a step up.

It feels as though Watford may be able to achieve something special this season – but securing a top-level number nine may be the difference between a spot in the play-offs or falling agonisingly short.

Italian midfielder Edoardo Bove, 23, who is a free agent after leaving Roma earlier this month, will undergo a medical on Monday to complete a move to Watford. (Watford Observer), external

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Monday's gossip column here.

Watford boss Javi Gracia speaking after his side's 2-0 defeat to Millwall:

"It's obvious this wasn't our best game. We knew that Millwall are really strong, but we didn't do our job.

"We tried to find a way to progress and play in our style, but we didn't do it.

"When we conceded the first goal after a mistake it was difficult for us to control the game. Millwall deserved their reward.

"When it came to showing our quality one-on-one or finishing with composure today was not our day.

"I'm frustrated, the players are frustrated, our fans are frustrated. We suffered today because Millwall were strong, but they did their job. We knew that before the game.

"We have to learn that when games are so tight and close, we have to be ready to defend and attack in small spaces."

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Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna has hailed his team's "quality and resilience" after being named Championship manager of the month for December.

Town won four of their seven games last month, including a 2-0 victory away to leaders Coventry City, and were beaten only once.

"This award is credit to everyone involved with the team and also the supporters, because it was a really challenging December with lots of games and lots of travel," McKenna told the club website., external

"Although not every game went our way, we really stuck at it and showed lots of quality and resilience. That took a lot of effort from everyone and it's especially pleasing for us to win this award in a month which asked so much of us.

"We know it will take a big, big effort over the next few months and it's now about everyone continuing to work hard, sticking together and seeing where we are at the end of the season."

McKenna was chosen by the judging panel ahead of fellow nominees Watford's Javi Gracia, Sergej Jakirovic of Hull City and Swansea head coach Vitor Matos.

It is McKenna's sixth Manager of the Month award, and he was also named EFL Championship manager of the season in 2024.

Ipswich are third in the table, just two points behind second-placed Middlesbrough but with a game in hand, and are at home to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.

Image source, Opta

It's a big game in the Championship play-off race as sixth-placed Watford and fifth-placed Millwall meet at Vicarage Road on Saturday (12:30 GMT).

Depending on results elsewhere, a place in the top-four is at stake for the winners, with the Lions holding a two-point advantage over the in-form Hornets before kick-off.

Javi Gracia's side have won four straight games and taken 17 points from their past seven games while Alex Neil's men are unbeaten in four, claiming eight points and conceding only two goals.

• Watford have lost five of their past seven league games against Millwall (W1 D1), losing 1-0 away at the Den earlier this season.

• Following a 2-1 win at Vicarage Road last season, Millwall are looking for consecutive away league wins at Watford for the first time since a run of four between October 1995 and January 2002.

• No current side is on a longer Championship winning run than Watford, who've won their last four games. The Hornets are looking to win five in a row for the first time since a run of six in March/April 2021.

• Since Alex Neil's first Championship game in charge of Millwall, only Coventry City (93) have picked up more points than the Lions (80). Neil's next game will be his 50th league game in charge – he has 23 wins so far, with only Mark McGhee (29) and the joint manager duo Keith Stevens and Alan McLeary (26) having won more in their first 50 games.

• Watford have scored 16 goals when they've been losing in the Championship this season, two more than any other team when they've been trailing. The Hornets have outshot their opponents 132 to 66 when losing (+66 differential), with only Middlesbrough having a better difference in 2025/26 (+94).

Image source, Getty Images

Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna, Watford's Javi Gracia, Sergej Jakirovic of Hull City and Swansea head coach Vitor Matos have been nominated for the Championship's manager of the month award for December.

McKenna has moved Ipswich into the top three and within two points of second-placed Middlesbrough after taking 14 points from their seven games last month, which included two wins over leaders Coventry.

Watford reappointed Gracia as head coach in October and an unbeaten run in December has pushed them into the play-off places, with the Hornets currently on a four-game winning run in the league.

Jakirovic has taken Hull City into promotion contention with wins at Middlesbrough and Millwall.

Swansea boss Matos started his reign with successive defeats but four wins from their six games in December has taken the Welsh side eight points clear of the relegation zone.

The winner will be announced on Friday, 16 January.

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Watford have designated Saturday's home Championship fixture against Millwall as this season's Graham Taylor Matchday in memory of their former manager.

Fans from both sides are being asked to bring scarves to Vicarage Road to hold up as the teams come out onto the pitch before the 12:30 GMT kick-off.

And there will be 60 seconds of applause in the 72nd minute to mark Taylor's death at the age of 72 in 2017.

First brought to the club by Sir Elton John in 1977, Taylor led Watford to four promotions in five years before leaving for Aston Villa - and two further promotions followed after he returned to the club in 1996 following a spell as England boss.

The Graham Taylor Matchday takes place each year on the date closest to his passing on 12 January.

Watford are currently sixth in the table following four successive league wins under Javi Gracia, who is in his second spell in charge.

Pundits Dion Dublin and Rob Green join host Jason Mohammad to bring you the action and talking points from Friday and Saturday's FA Cup ties.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

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