The start of the 2020/21 Sky Bet Championship campaign is upon us, with Watford taking on Middlesbrough in the first game of the season tonight.

Watford will be hoping to secure an immediate return to the Premier League, with Vladimir Ivic taking charge in English football for the first time tonight.

The Hornets still have a huge amount of players on the books following their relegation from the top-flight, and they will be looking to return to the Premier League at the first time of asking this term.

Quiz: Do you know what club these 9 ex-Watford academy graduates are at now?

Boro, meanwhile, are hoping to undergo a positive season under Neil Warnock after narrowly avoiding relegation to Sky Bet League One last term.

Warnock did his job and kept Boro up from relegation last term, and he will now look to continue strengthening his squad ahead of the forthcoming campaign.

It promises to be an interesting clash at Vicarage Road, so what does David Prutton predict? The Sky Sports pundit has predicted a surprise 2-1 away win for Middlesbrough.

He said: "We're back! A new season and a fresh start in the Sky Bet Championship, although it's not where Watford would want to be after five years in the top flight.

"Middlesbrough will be happy to still be at this level after flirting with danger last season and Neil Warnock may quietly fancy his team to spring a surprise on a side that may still be a little unsettled in terms of players staying or going. I'm going to back a big away win."

The Verdict

This promises to be an interesting game and it's quite hard to call to be honest.

Watford have the stronger squad out of the two teams and definitely have the players to do well in the Championship this term, but it's all about how the players cope with the new manager's style.

Boro don't have the strongest term in squad depth, but you can back on Warnock to get his players right up for this one tonight and get their season off to a positive start.

I predict a draw.