Bristol City 1-0 Watford: Match Report, Goals, Stats and Ratings
Championship Matchday 8 · Friday 18 September 2026 · Ashton Gate Stadium, Bristol · referee O. Langford · full time
Full time: Bristol City 1-0 Watford
Bristol City beat Watford 1-0 in Championship Matchday 8 on Friday 18 September 2026 at Ashton Gate Stadium. The goals: Dom Ballard 31'.
How Bristol City won it
Dom Ballard put Bristol City ahead in the 31st minute, set up by Rio Cardines.
It was 1-0 at half-time, and nothing changed after the break.
The referee, O. Langford, showed 7 yellow cards: 2 to Bristol City and 5 to Watford.
Bristol City: M. Skubala, 4-2-3-1 · Watford: A. Dionisi, 4-4-2.
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 0.55 for Bristol City and 1.57 for Watford.
Watford left about 1.6 goals' worth of chances on the pitch.
Watford created the better chances, 1.57 xG to 0.55, and still lost. On chances alone, the result could easily have gone the other way.
Bristol City had 7 shots on target, Watford 2.
Watford's goalkeeper made 6 saves.
Watford had 64% of the ball, but Bristol City took the points.
Where the two sides stood before this match
Bristol City came into it with 12 Championship matches played, scoring 1.0 and conceding 1.3 a match, with 1.28 expected goals for and 1.40 against, and had won 33% of their matches.
Watford came into it with 12 Championship matches played, scoring 0.8 and conceding 1.7 a match, with 1.10 expected goals for and 1.89 against, and had won 25% of their matches.
Bristol City vs Watford: the match in numbers
| Bristol City | Match statistics | Watford |
|---|---|---|
| 36% | Ball possession | 64% |
| 0.55 | Expected goals (xG) | 1.57 |
| 17 | Total shots | 10 |
| 7 | Shots on target | 2 |
| 1 | Big chances | 1 |
| 270 | Total passes | 492 |
| 77% | Pass accuracy | 86% |
| 2 | Corners | 5 |
| 11 | Fouls | 15 |
| 3 | Offsides | 0 |
| 19 | Tackles | 9 |
| 2 | Saves | 6 |
| 2 | Yellow cards | 5 |
Team statistics from Sportmonks.
Player ratings and man of the match
Man of the match: Federico Ravaglia (Watford), rated 7.9 by Sportmonks.
Bristol City
- Rio Cardines 7.7 1 assist
- Dom Ballard 7.6 1 goal
- George Tanner 7.3
- Sam Greenwood 7.2
- Lorent Tolaj 7.1
Watford
- Federico Ravaglia 7.9
- Hector Kyprianou 7.2
- Branimir Mlacic 7.0
- Iker Bravo 7.0
- Stephy Alvaro Mavididi 6.9
The lowest-rated starter was Kévin Keben at 6.1. Ratings run from 0 to 10; around 7.0 is a solid match.
What comes next
- Bristol City: Bolton Wanderers vs Bristol City Saturday 31 October 2026 · Championship
- Watford: Norwich City vs Watford Saturday 31 October 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 Bristol City vs Watford
What was the score in Bristol City vs Watford?
Bristol City 1-0 Watford (half-time 1-0), Championship, Friday 18 September 2026.
Who scored in Bristol City vs Watford?
Dom Ballard 31'.
Did Moneyball predict Bristol City vs Watford 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 Bristol City vs Watford?
Federico Ravaglia, rated 7.9 by Sportmonks.
Who refereed Bristol City vs Watford?
O. Langford.
Every match, before and after
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