Bristol City thrashed Watford 4-1 under manager Liam Manning to make it their third consecutive Championship win and Manning's first away win since taking charge. Oxford's Manning masterminded the surprise victory, with his side pressing through midfield to keep Watford's in-form players at bay. The hosts struggled to keep possession in midfield and Bristol City capitalised on their mistakes. Before half-time, own goals from Cameron Pullin and Wesley Hoyt gave the visitors a comfortable lead.
Early in the second half, George Chakvatazela netted a goal for Watford, but Mark Sykes and substitute Andreas Weimann sealed the win for Bristol City. Bristol City started the game at bay with Watford's attack and Rob Dickey headed just wide. However, Watford counter-attacked and Arthur Aspriglia fired a powerful shot past goalkeeper Max O'Leary. Bristol City then took control of the game and Prine opened the scoring with the help of Watford's poor defence.
Towards half-time, Hoyt inadvertently slotted the ball into his own goal, giving Bristol City a two-goal advantage. Watford struggled to regain the initiative and Bristol City punished them. Sykes scored after a save from Ben Hammer and Weimann sealed a fourth goal late in the game. Watford had a couple of chances to score, but Matthews Martins, Mileta Lajovic, Reece Healy and Francisco Cieralta all failed to hit the target. Overall, Bristol City's control in midfield and calm finishing proved difficult for Watford to deal with and resulted in a remarkable victory.