Premier League preview and odds: Manchester City vs Watford

Published on: 14/12/2016

Premier League preview and odds: Manchester City vs Watford

December 14, 2016 20:00pm - The Etihad Stadium

Premier League

Pre-season title favourites Manchester City will look to get their campaign back on track when they welcome ninth-ranked Watford to the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night.

Pep out to solve Premier League puzzle

Pep Guardiola came to England for a challenge and so far, his tenure in the Premier League has been full of testing moments. After a bright start, his team has faltered and is now struggling to rediscover the form that saw them cruise to the top of the table early on.

Perhaps the biggest shock of all came last weekend when the Sky Blues slumped to a 4-2 defeat at Leicester City. That result left them seven points adrift of league leaders Chelsea in the title race. The Spanish coach will now be keen to live up to his reputation as the best coach in the world by adapting his tactics to succeed in the English game.

City are winless in their last four league matches at home, having played out three 1-1 draws before falling 3-1 to Chelsea. They will be looking to avoid a third-straight league defeat when they take to the field on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, Watford have had an up and down season but have done enough to keep themselves in touch with the top six. New boss Walter Mazzarri has also had to adapt to a new league but has so far done an adequate job since taking over the reins from Quique Sanchez Flores.

The Hornets will be looking to avoid a third-straight away defeat when they make the journey north on Wednesday. They come into this game on the back of an impressive 3-2 win at home to Everton.

Key stats

Manchester City have scored in all of their home games and conceded at least one goal in all but one.

Watford conceded nine goals in their last two away games .

Team news

The home side will be without the suspended duo of Fernandinho and Sergio Aguero, while Vincent Kompany is still out with a knee injury.

Meanwhile, the visitors will continue without Adrian Mariappa (knee), Kenedy (muscle injury), Brice Dja Djedje (foot) and Craig Cathcart, while Valon Behrami and Younes Kaboul are both doubtful.

Recent form (League):

Manchester City: LLWWD

Watford: WLLWL

Betting odds and tips

City recent wobble is in danger of turning into a crisis. The question is whether Pep Guardiola will stick to his tried and trusted methods or adopt a new approach. This game should give us a clue as to his intentions.

However, the absence of Fernandinho and Aguero should not be enough to prevent the home side from grabbing a much-needed win.

Having said that, the visitors won`t make it easy and can be expected to cause some problems for the home side`s fragile defence.

You can back Man City/Both Teams to Score at 6/4 with Bet365.

By Neil Morris

Published on: 14/12/2016

Any odds displayed within this preview were correct at the time of publishing (14/12/2016 11:15:45) but are subject to change.