Manchester City v Watford Match Preview

Manchester City face Watford for the first time since their victory at Wembley Stadium in the FA Cup Final.

Pep Guardiola will be keen to ensure his Manchester City side get back on track in the Premier League on Saturday in their home match against Watford. The loss to Norwich needs to recede into the past and his squad now need to put an effective run together in the games ahead. This is easier to do in many ways because we have entered that phase of the season where there are two games a week. Poor performances can be consigned to history that much quicker.

City go into this match with some much publicised injury problems in central defence. Helpfully for any aspiring Premier League managers out there, pundits have queued up all week to offer detailed tactical analysis of how to beat City. The question is will the returning Watford manager – Quique Sanchez Flores – have listened to that dissection of our problems?

As a City fan there is no point lamenting the hard times bestowed upon our depleted squad by Lady Luck. We have had plenty of luck so far. Guardiola has coaxed excellence from our players on many occasions and will try and do so again. I am looking forward to those attempts in the next few weeks as out thrilling brand of football will no doubt come unstuck in some moments.

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We play Preston in mid week in the Carabao Cup and that provides an opportunity for some of the fringe players to stake a claim in our side, accordingly I suspect there will be little rotation in our team following the Champions League win away at Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday evening. If there is more rotation it will most likely be forced on Guardiola by tiredness or injury.

Therefore, I believe we will set up in our trusted 4-3-3 formation with Ederson in front of a back four comprising Cancelo, Fernandinho, Otamendi and Zinchenko. Rodri will continue as our anchor and in front of him I expect to see Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva. Up front Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling will flank either side of the returning Sergio Aguero.

City have a pretty enviable record against Watford. We have won the last 11 games straight in which we have faced them. In fact our last defeat is way back in March 1989 when we lost 1-0 at Vicarage Road in the old Division 2. Our last home defeat against Watford is even further back in the mists of time – a 2:1 loss on 14 April 1987 in Division 1 where our goal came from a Neil McNab penalty.

The problem with hearing about that kind of run of victories just makes me think it has to end sometime! Let us hope it is not on Saturday!

The Watford fans are not feeling confident. A cursory read of the fan forums seem to view the match as a free hit for their manager. The common view is that almost any defeat – as long as it is not a demolition – will not effect the new manager bounce they are enjoying. Most fans are urging the team to not attempt to play like Norwich and to instead to sit deep and try to exploit our weakness at defending set pieces.

Personally I hope the Watford team are approaching the game in the same way as their fans, with an expected level of tolerable defeat. It is important City get back to winning ways in the League and a statement victory would be a good way of doing that.

Predicted Starting XI

Ederson

Cancelo, Otamendi, Fernandinho, Zinchenko

Rodri, De Bruyne, David Silva

Sterling, Aguero, Mahrez