Watford 2-1 Southampton: Match Report, Goals, Stats and Ratings
Championship Matchday 1 · Sunday 16 August 2026 · Vicarage Road, Watford · referee M. Donohue · full time
Full time: Watford 2-1 Southampton
Watford won 2-1 at home to Southampton in Championship Matchday 1 on Sunday 16 August 2026. The goals: Iker Bravo 12', Amin Nabizada 29', Cyle Larin 56'.
How Watford won it
Iker Bravo put Watford ahead in the 12th minute. Amin Nabizada made it 2-0 to Watford in the 29th minute. Cyle Larin made it 2-1 to Southampton in the 56th minute, set up by Cameron Bragg.
It was 2-0 at half-time.
The referee, M. Donohue, showed 9 yellow cards: 6 to Watford and 3 to Southampton.
Watford: A. Dionisi, 4-2-3-1 · Southampton: T. Eckert, 4-2-3-1.
Moneyball's prediction against the result
Moneyball did not publish a pre-match estimate for this match, so there is nothing to mark it against.
Why it went this way
On the day the expected goals were 1.56 for Watford and 1.24 for Southampton.
Watford had 4 shots on target, Southampton 3.
Southampton had 66% of the ball, but Watford took the points.
Where the two sides stood before this match
Watford came into it with 15 Championship matches played, scoring 0.9 and conceding 1.5 a match, with 1.04 expected goals for and 1.81 against, and had won 27% of their matches.
Southampton came into it with 15 Championship matches played, scoring 1.9 and conceding 1.0 a match, with 1.74 expected goals for and 1.53 against, and had won 53% of their matches.
Watford vs Southampton: the match in numbers
| Watford | Match statistics | Southampton |
|---|---|---|
| 34% | Ball possession | 66% |
| 1.56 | Expected goals (xG) | 1.24 |
| 16 | Total shots | 17 |
| 4 | Shots on target | 3 |
| 1 | Big chances | 3 |
| 266 | Total passes | 514 |
| 78% | Pass accuracy | 88% |
| 4 | Corners | 8 |
| 12 | Fouls | 9 |
| 0 | Offsides | 3 |
| 17 | Tackles | 20 |
| 2 | Saves | 2 |
| 6 | Yellow cards | 3 |
Team statistics from Sportmonks.
Player ratings and man of the match
Man of the match: Ryan Manning (Southampton), rated 7.6 by Sportmonks.
Watford
- Iker Bravo 7.2 1 goal
- Mattie Pollock 7.1
- Federico Ravaglia 7.1
- Hector Kyprianou 7.1
- Amin Nabizada 7.0 1 goal
Southampton
- Ryan Manning 7.6
- Cyle Larin 7.3 1 goal
- Taylor Harwood-Bellis 7.2
- Cameron Bragg 7.2 1 assist
- Léo Scienza 6.9
The lowest-rated starter was Jack Stephens at 6.1. Ratings run from 0 to 10; around 7.0 is a solid match.
What comes next
- Watford: Sheffield United vs Watford Saturday 21 November 2026 · Championship
- Southampton: Southampton vs Derby County Saturday 21 November 2026 · Championship
Each preview has Moneyball's estimate for the next match, published before kick-off and marked against the result afterwards, as this one is.
Questions about Watford vs Southampton
What was the score in Watford vs Southampton?
Watford 2-1 Southampton (half-time 2-0), Championship, Sunday 16 August 2026.
Who scored in Watford vs Southampton?
Iker Bravo 12', Amin Nabizada 29', Cyle Larin 56'.
Did Moneyball predict Watford vs Southampton correctly?
Moneyball did not publish a pre-match estimate for this match, so there is nothing to mark it against.
Who was man of the match in Watford vs Southampton?
Ryan Manning, rated 7.6 by Sportmonks.
Who refereed Watford vs Southampton?
M. Donohue.
Every match, before and after
Moneyball writes a preview with its estimate before every match of Europe's top five leagues and the European cups, then marks it against the result, hits and misses alike.
Moneyball is a football statistics site. No model predicts football reliably: every figure is an estimate.