English Premier
2018-12-04 - Watford vs Manchester City
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Tuesday 4th December 2018 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV
Watford
A new contract has been signed by manager Javi Gracia at Vicarage Road as he looks to become the first manager of Watford to be given more than a few months in charge of the club. Even then, a new contract won't mean anything for the owners if Watford are not able to start putting a few wins on the board as they try to manage a difficult part of their season.
Recent results have seen Watford drop down to 10th in the Premier League table and they face perhaps the toughest of the opponents in the Division on Tuesday in front of the television cameras. The Hornets have a 4-0-3 record at Vicarage Road in the Premier League and they have scored 10 goals and conceded 11 in those games.
Watford have not won any of their last 4 games in the Premier League since beating Huddersfield Town 3-0 here, and they have lost 3 of those 4 games. On Saturday they were beaten 2-0 at Leicester City, but even a return home may not help Watford turn things around as they have been beaten in 3 of their last 4 Premier League games here.
Daryl Janmaat is edging closer to a return to the squad, but he may miss out here along with Etienne Capoue who is suspended.
Manchester City
There were some awkward moments for Manchester City in their 3-1 win over Bournemouth on Saturday, but they were deserved winners for the most part as they maintained their lead in the Premier League. They play before Liverpool again this week as they look to keep the pressure on their rivals to try and stay with Manchester City who have followed up last season with another strong start to this one.
They remain top of the Premier League table and 2 points clear of Liverpool going into the latest round of League fixtures during the week. The only dropped points in the Premier League have come away from home where Manchester City have a 4-2-0 record after scoring 13 goals and conceding just the 1.
Manchester City are unbeaten in 15 games in all competitions and they returned to winning ways when defeating Bournemouth during the week. The side had won 3 consecutive away games in all competitions before fighting back to earn a 2-2 draw with Lyon in the Champions League.
Kevin De Bruyne was all but ruled out by Pep Guardiola on Monday. Both Oleksandr Zinchenko and Sergio Aguero are doubtful, while David Silva is expected to be restored to the starting line up with Kyle Walker and John Stones.
Head to Head
Manchester City did the Premier League double over Watford last season which included a 0-6 win at Vicarage Road.
Manchester City have won on 3 straight visits to Watford and have scored 11 goals in the 2 under Pep Guardiola.
Prediction
You can't really second guess managers at this time of the season as they look to rotate players and keep things as fresh as possible. When you have a squad like the one Manchester City have then you know there shouldn't be a massive drop off from the standards set by the manager and that is the case when they visit Watford on Tuesday.
There is a big game on deck with Chelsea which means Guardiola may not want to risk key players, but this game comes early enough in the week to expect a very strong Manchester City team.
Watford have a very good manager of their own and Javi Gracia has been rewarded with a contract extension, but recent results have been difficult. They have also lost 3 of their last 4 home games in the Premier League and were dismissed by Liverpool 0-3 in the last game at Vicarage Road.
Bournemouth also crushed Watford here and I think Manchester City's record against them under Pep Guardiola can't be ignored.
Manchester City have won all four games against Watford under the Spaniard and they have scored 16 goals in that time. 11 of those 16 goals have come in the two games at Vicarage Road and I will back Manchester City to win by a couple of goals on the night.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Watford 0-3 Manchester City
