by Ian S Palmer
Watford will be returning to the English Premier League later this year as they’ve secured promotion for the 2015/16 season. The second-tier English Championship side will rake in about 120 million pounds ($233 million) due to the promotion after their 2-0 win over Brighton and Hove Albion on April 25. The team guaranteed themselves one of the top two spots in the league and automatic promotion after other results helped them out on the weekend.
Watford promoted to English Premier League – bet365 lists Watford as the favorite to win the Championship League at 2/5 with Bournemouth 11/4. Derby is 1/12 to reach the playoffs with Ipswich 1/10, Brentford 7/2 and Wolverhampton at 28/1
Third-place Middlesbrough was beaten 4-3 at Fulham and fourth-place Norwich City could only manage a 1-1 draw at Rotherham. Watford leads the league with 88 points from 45 games and has a plus-41 goal difference. Second-place Bournemouth is just one point behind at 87 and have a plus-50 goal difference. Middlesbrough dropped to third place with 84 points and a plus-31 mark and Norwich fell to fourth with a plus-38 goal difference. Watford is guaranteed to finish in first or second place while the other promotion berth is still up for grabs. The third to sixth place clubs will enter the playoffs to see who earns the third available promotion into the Premier League.
Watford’s last appearance in the Premier League was the 2006/07 campaign. They secured their return against Brighton when Troy Deeney put them ahead after 28 minutes with his 21st tally of the season and Matej Vydra added an insurance marker in injury time for their fifth straight win. Bournemouth jumped into second place when they beat the Bolton Wanderers on April 27. Watford and Bournemouth each have one game remaining in the season with Watford at home to 14th-place Sheffield Wednesday on May 2 while Bournemouth visits 10th-place Charlton.
Bournemouth can still win the league with a win over Charlton if Watford draws or loses against Sheffield Wednesday. Also, Bournemouth could afford to lose their final outing of the season as long as Middlesbrough doesn’t make up the difference in goal difference between the two sides. Bournemouth has a 19-goal advantage over Middlesbrough and look certain to earn promotion to the Premier League, but since anything can happen in sports, it’s not official yet.
The playoff race is also a close one as Brentford and Wolverhampton Wanderers are both just two points out of the final postseason spot. Either team could overtake fifth-place Ipswich Town or sixth-place Derby County on the last day of the season if they manage to take all three points and Ipswich and Derby lose. However, Ipswich can guarantee themselves a playoff spot with a draw.
