03 December 2021, 16:25 | 28 August 2021, 15:29
Watford FC vs. Manchester City kicks off at 18:30 (GMT+1) on Saturday, December 4, at Vicarage Road.
Preview Watford Premier League, Dec 4, 2021
Preview Watford managed to find their way back into the match but eventually failed to earn a point against Chelsea on Wednesday. Minutes into the game, the match was temporarily suspended after a fan in the crowd experienced cardiac arrest. Fortunately, according to the latest reports, the fan remains hospitalized and in stable condition. At the half-hour mark, Mason Mount (30'), who had struck the woodwork earlier, eventually put Chelsea in the lead. But Emmanuel Dennis Bonaventure (44'), who has been in goalscoring form of late, restored parity at Vicarage Road. The second-half substitute, Hakim Ziyech (72'), who is currently on Barcelona’s radar, fired Chelsea back in front and condemned the Hornets to back-to-back defeats, LLWLL. Watford dropped one spot, moving from 16th to 17th place on the table while having 13 points after 4W, 1D, and 9L. With only 3 points out of a possible 15, Claudio Ranieri continues in his struggle to impact his ideas on the squad, and despite promising signs, plenty of work remains in the defensive end. The Hornets have let in 26 goals (1.86 goals conceded per game), the third-highest in the league, behind Newcastle United (30) and Norwich City (28). A defensive 4—5—1 formation or a similar variant is expected for this game against Manchester City, with Joshua King in attack. Watford’s long list of possible absentees could see the club without as many as seven players.
Preview Manchester City Premier League, Dec 4, 2021
Preview Steven Gerrard had his first taste of defeat with Aston Villa following the mid-week 2-1 loss to Manchester City at Villa Park. A tricky dummy saw Raheem Sterling pick out Ruben Dias (27') for the opener. - Leaving Jack Grealish with a wry smile on the bench after the goal against his former side, before it vanished quickly after noticing he’d been caught on camera. A moment later, a well-executed counterattack from Manchester City left Bernardo Silva (43') with the trigger on a remarkable left-footed volley. Minutes after the break, Ollie Watkins (47') got one back for the home side to reduce City’s lead to one. Several clear-cut chances went begging, with Ederson pulling out a fantastic save to keep City in the lead on one occasion. The game we played was fantastic. An impressed Pep said after the match. Difficult game. I understand why. Especially after conceding early in the second half, we played really well. Pep added. In 2nd place, Manchester City returns with four consecutive victories, LWWWW, having 32 points from 10W, 2D, and 2L. An attacking 4—3—3 formation is expected from Pep on Saturday, with Sterling at the center of the attacking trio. Kevin De Bruyne (COVID-19) remains doubtful, along with John Stones, Kyle Walker, and Ilkay Gundogan.