Watford will face a daunting task of travelling to the Etihad Stadium to take on the league leaders Manchester City at the back of a bitter home defeat versus Swansea City in their last league outing. Marco Silva’s men will need to bounce back after a poor run of form which has seen them win only once in their previous eight league matches. However, it would be a tough ask to get a result against Pep Guardiola’s men who are flying high at the moment. The Citizens of Manchester are still unbeaten domestically in this campaign so far.
However, the Hornets would be hoping to pull off a major upset on New Year’s Day and stop their recent slump down the league table. The injuries to Kevin De Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus might make life easy for Watford but there are still some world class talents in the City squad capable of winning any match.
The recent history of this fixture doesn’t bode well for the Hornets as the Sky Blues of Manchester has come out on top in each of their previous seven meetings. Marco Silva will keep his fingers crossed that his players can put a stop to that run and get a result in Manchester. He is expected to opt for a 4-2-3-1 formation and is expected to make a few changes to the side that lost to the Swans on Saturday.
4-2-3-1 Watford Predicted Lineup To Face Manchester City
Defence
Heurelho Gomes will once again retain his place in goal for Watford and is expected to be protected by a back four of Sebastian Prödl and Christian Kabasele at the heart of the Hornets’ defence while Marvin Zeegelaar takes his place on the left and Daryl Janmaat starts in the right back position.
The Watford defence has conceded 37 goals in 21 Premier League matches so they might be in for a difficult night away in Manchester if they fail to keep things tight at the back early on.
Midfield
The duo of Abdoulaye Doucouré and Étienne Capoue will be deployed as holding midfielders and will be responsible for shielding their backline and breaking down the opposition attacks.
The trio of Tom Cleverley, Richarlison and Roberto Pereyra might play just ahead of the holding midfielders in their efforts to hit City on the counter.
Attack
Andre Gray is expected to lead the lines for Marco Silva’s men up top. He will look to use his pace and run down the channels to provide an outlet for his teammates.
