Is Watford v Portsmouth on TV? Kick-off time, team news, channel and how to watch Championship fixture

Pompey's Boxing Day will be spent playing Watford at Vicarage Road in the EFL Championship.

John Mousinho's men are hoping to follow up their win against Coventry City last time out with a real statement on their travels. Watford suffered a 2-1 defeat to Burnley and will want to get back to winning ways as they target a top six spot.

Here's all you need to know ahead of Thursday.

When is Watford v Pompey?

Pompey will make the trip to Vicarage Road on Thursday, December 26. Kick-off scheduled for 15:00 GMT.

Tickets

Tickets for the match are no longer available to buy on Pompey’s Ticketmaster page. Pompey sold out their allocation of 2,100 tickets and are also filling out the away end at Bristol City. If you’re a home supporter, you’re still able to buy tickets here.

How can I watch the game?

Charlton Athletic v Cambridge United is the main game on Sky Sports, but they will be showing all the 3.00 pm games across the Championship, League One, and League Two.

For those who won’t be making the trip to Hertfordshire, the Championship action will be available to watch live on Sky Sports+ with no extra cost if you’re a Sky Sports subscriber. Alternatively, fans can get 24 hour access to all Sky Sports channels through the £14.99 NOW Day Membership. The streaming service also offers monthly sport subscriptions, starting at £26.

Watford v Pompey team news

The hosts are hoping that Imran Louza can play on Thursday after missing the game against Burnley due to illness. Kevin Keben and Tom Dele-Bashiru are both missing due to respective knee injuries.

Conor Shaughnessy, Jacob Farrell, Jordan Williams, Mark O'Mahony, Kusini Yengi, Harvey Blair, Ibane Bowat, and Regan Poole are all absent for the visitors. Elias Sorensen and Abdoulaye Kamara are available once again.

Referee

Geoff Eltringham is the referee for the match and he will be assisted by Greg Read and Bhupinder Singh Gill with Paul Johnson the fourth official.

Eltringham is from County Durham and he's done 12 games this season, giving out 42 yellow cards, two second yellows and one red card with two penalties awarded. He's only done two Championship gamesthis term and his last match was the goalless draw between Crewe Alexandra and Danny Cowley's Colchester United.

The last time he officiated a Pompey match was the 3-0 defeat to Bolton Wanderers in January 2023. As for his record with Watford, he was the man in the middle for their 2-1 win over Derby County in August.