Preview: Manchester City vs Watford – Prediction, Team News, Lineups

A duel that will bring back many painful memories for the guests. Manchester City And Watford cross on Tuesday EFL Cup Third round clash at the Etihad Stadium.

While the reigning Premier League champions enter one of their favourite competitions – at least as far as success is concerned Pep Guardiola – by this point, the Hornets had already beaten MK Dons and Plymouth Argyle to secure a glamorous draw.

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In the early years of Guardiola's Man City reign, this competition was considered a foregone conclusion, but the top-flight champions have failed to add another EFL Cup title to their tally since their remarkable fourth consecutive win – and eighth overall – in the COVID-affected 2020-21 season.

The Citizens have swapped EFL Cup medals for shinier honours in the Champions League and Club World Cup in recent years, although they have clearly lost their knockout skills in that competition, making it only as far as the quarter-finals since the start of the 2021-22 season.

Guardiola's bid to regain EFL Cup supremacy last year memorably ended at that very hurdle against Newcastle United. However, the club have not been knocked out in the third round twice in a row since 1987 and the euphoria of the weekend's gripping events will not have faded even 48 hours later.

For 45 minutes of the second half on Sunday against Arsenal, the Gunners' 10-man defence seemed impenetrable, with only the substitute John Stones and scored Man City's latest Premier League goal in a thrilling 2-2 draw, keeping Guardiola's men top of the table and ending their 13-game winning streak in the top flight.

Erling HaalandStones' record-breaking 100th Man City goal was preceded by the brilliant equaliser – and Riccardo Calafiori And Gabriel Magalhãess efforts in between – but the Scandinavian sensation will surely have to wait for number 101, as the hosts only have one full day of rest.

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Now under the wing of a man who briefly left his mark on the red side of Manchester, Watford travel to the Etihad having slightly lost its way under Tom Cleverleywhich got things off to a great start before September became a month of mourning.

In fact, under the former Manchester United midfielder, the Hornets won each of their first five competitive games, including a 5-0 win over MK Dons and a 2-0 victory over Plymouth Argyle in the earlier rounds of the EFL Cup, reaching the third round for the first time since the 2021-22 season.

However, the two-goal win over Plymouth on August 27 is the Hornets' most recent victory ever, as they have picked up just one measly point in three Championship games this month, losing to Sheffield United and Norwich City and drawing at home with Coventry City.

Particularly sobering for Cleverley was Saturday's defeat to Norwich, whose team were thrashed 4-1 by the Canaries to finish outside the top six in eighth place, although still just one point away from the play-offs at this early stage.

Both the September form table and the head-to-head record are extremely bleak for Watford fans. Since forcing the Citizens to a 1-1 draw in 2017, the Hornets have lost each of their last 15 games against the ruthless Man City, conceding an incredible 58 goals in the process, a rate of almost four per game. If nothing else, the Hornets can at least expect Haaland to get a break with his 100-goal midweek record.

Manchester City form (all competitions):

Watford EFL Cup form:

Watford form (all competitions):

Team News

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In what could go down in history as the most unforgettable performance of his career, Rodri went down twice in the draw at the weekend, once after a collision in the fifth second with Kai Havertz and then an apparently serious knee injury, reportedly a devastating cruciate ligament tear, that ended the season.

Although Guardiola indicated that Kevin De Bruyne (groin) could have been available for the duel with Arsenal, but the Belgian was – according to reports – not in the matchday squad and is unlikely to play again against a second division team. Oscar Bob (leg) and Nathan Ake (thighs) are also missing.

The City boss cannot rule out making 11 substitutions and could also call on the Under-21s to complete his squad for Tuesday's match, in which the highly-rated Nico O’Reilly could play a prominent role.

Watford’s efforts against Norwich, meanwhile, were not helped by two early defensive retreats, as goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann and central defender Francisco Sierralta were both substituted within a few minutes in the first quarter of the game.

Watford have confirmed that both players have serious muscle injuries, but they will not be playing on Tuesday, so the reserve goalkeeper Jonathan Bond And Ryan Porteous should be called up as a substitute in the starting eleven.

Kevin Keben (knee) and goalscorer at the weekend Robert F. Kennedy (thighs) are also out of the running for the Hornets, while strikers Daniel Jebbison is cup-bound, having played for Bournemouth in the second round before his loan move to Vicarage Road.

Possible starting eleven for Manchester City:
Ortega; Lewis, Stones, Simpson-Pusey, Wilson-Esbrand; Nunes, Wright; O'Reilly, McAtee, Grealish; Foden

Possible starting line-up for Watford:
Binding; Morris, Pollock, Porteous; Ebosele, Dele-Bashiru, Sissoko, Sema; Chakvetadze, Baah; Bayo

We think: Manchester City 2-0 Watford

Despite all the moves and the possibility of several young stars getting their chance to impress, Man City's streak of multiple goals in games against Watford is expected to continue if the Citizens advance to the fourth round.

With Cleverley's Hornets morale currently low and two defensive injuries hitting them at the worst possible time, we can't see the out-of-form visitors doing much against a makeshift City side, even one brimming with talent.

Click here to see a data analysis of the most likely outcomes, scores and more for this match.

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