City make the journey south to take on Watford on Saturday. Can the home team climb further away from the relegation zone? Can Pep Guardiola’s men stay in the fight for first place?
Seeking to keep the pressure on English Premier League (EPL) table-toppers Chelsea, Manchester City travel to Watford for Saturday evening’s match-up.
The Hornets lost 2-1 to the league leaders in midweek. Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola’s men saw off Aston Villa by the same scoreline.
Watford defender, Adam Masina, started the Chelsea game but was forced to come off after just 12 minutes, so Danny Rose looks likely to feature in the rearguard for this match.
Kwadwo Baah, Ismaïla Sarr, Ben Foster, Nicolas N’Koulou, and Peter Etebo will be out until after Christmas, but Ken Sema and Francisco Sierralta should be back in contention soon.
It wouldn’t be surprising to see Juraj Kucka start in a tired midfield, but boss, Claudio Ranieri, won’t want to rotate too much given his side’s brave performance in midweek.
Meanwhile, for City, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish were both fit enough to make the bench on Wednesday, but İlkay Gündoğan, John Stones, and Kyle Walker all missed out.
The same trio have all emerged as doubts for the trip south, while Ferran Torres remains sidelined and Kevin De Bruyne is not likely to return from COVID-19 infection just yet.
Both Foden and Grealish could be deemed fit enough to start, although it would be a surprise to see both men complete the full match. However, Aymeric Laporte’s comeback from suspension is a welcome boost.
City’s attack has been buoyed by the returns of Grealish and Foden, and with Guardiola’s side becoming ruthless on the road, we don’t expect any upsets at Vicarage Road.
Our prediction is 3-0 to Manchester City, with the Citizens scoring two goals in the second half.
