Football

Manchester City Vs Watford Team News And Predicted Lineups As City Lose Key Man To Injury

James Chittick Sports Editor

Published8 hours ago on September 23, 2024

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With Pep Guardiola’s team still reeling from a potentially long-term injury to star man Rodri, here’s our Manchester City Vs Watford predicted lineups and team news ahead of Tuesday’s Carabao Cup clash.

Premier League champions City snatched a dramatic, 98th-minute equaliser in Sunday’s table-top battle with Arsenal.

John Stones scored the vital goal to maintain City’s unbeaten start to the season against a ten-man Gunners side.

But despite jubilant celebrations as they drew level at the death, City fans will be waiting with bated breath after watching midfield maestro Rodri limp off in the first half.

The 28-year-old Spaniard has been vital for Guardiola’s team and looked to be in serious discomfort as he left the field.

For City, attention now turns to the Carabao Cup, with Championship outfit Watford making the trip to the Etihad.

The Hornets have made a decent start to their league campaign, winning three of their six games so far and sitting in eighth place, one point outside the play-off places.

Managed by former Manchester United midfielder Tom Cleverley, Watford were beaten 4-1 at Norwich City on Saturday, so will be hoping for a response.

City and Watford have not met since 2022, with City 5-1 winners at the Etihad in the Premier League. Watford have lost their last 15 straight games against Manchester City, and have not beaten Tuesday’s opponents since 1987.

The head-to-head record between them stands currently at 20 wins for City, five for Watford and five draws.

Manchester City Team News

The big injury news from the weekend’s clash with Arsenal was of course Rodri’s injury. The midfielder went down twice, the second time with what appears to be a major knee injury.

City fans and management are awaiting further updates, but initial reports suggest he will be missing for some time.

Although Guardiola has said Kevin De Bruyne could have returned from his groin injury against Arsenal, he was left out against the Gunners.

It is therefore extremely unlikely that we will see him thrown back into the mix immediately against lower-league opposition.

Other absentees are Oscar Bobb (leg) and Nathan Ake (thigh).

There remains a strong chance of seeing 11 changes for the EFL Cup match, with plenty of U21 players in contention, including the highly-regarded Nico O’Reilly.

Watford Team News

Watford meanwhile suffered two early injury blows in the heavy defeat to Norwich on Saturday. Goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann and centre-back Francisco Sierralta both withdrew after less than a quarter of the match.

While the severity of both injuries is not yet certain, neither are likely to feature against Manchester City. Backup keeper Jonathan Bond should therefore be given an opportunity between the sticks, while Ryan Porteous will most likely slot into defence.

Also missing will be Kevin Keben (knee), alongside the cup-tied Daniel Jebbison. The on-loan Bournemouth striker had already featured for the Cherries in the competition prior to joining Watford.