Watford v Manchester City: live stream, TV details, how to watch, injury news & predicted line-ups

Manchester City will be looking to make it four away league wins in four games when they travel to Vicarage Road this Saturday (4 December) to take on Watford.

The match, which kicks-off at 5.30pm, will see City try and secure their fifth win in as many games, with Pep Guardiola’s side coming into the fixture off the back of a 2-1 win against Aston Villa on Wednesday. First-half goals from Ruben Dias and Bernando Silva were enough for the reigning Premier League champions to seal all three points.

This result followed an identical scoreline against West Ham last Sunday, which saw the Sky Blues continue their impressive form as of late.

As for Watford, they are in a different situation to their opponents on Saturday, having won only one of their seven matches under Claudio Ranieri so far. The Hornets have lost two consecutive league games - a 2-1 defeat to league-leaders Chelsea on Wednesday and a 4-2 loss to Leicester City this past Sunday.

The sides head into the clash 19 points apart in the league, with Watford just above the relegation zone in 17th place, while City sit second in the table - one point off Chelsea in first. Overall it’s been a torrid time for the Hertfordshire-based club, having never beat the reigning champions in the Premier League.

Of the 12 meetings in the competition, the Sky Blues has won 10, while honours have been even on two occasions.

The last time these two teams met in July last year it ended in a 4-0 win for Guardiola’s side at Vicarage Road. Raheem Sterling scored a double that day, while Phil Foden and Aymeric Laporte were also on the scoresheet. Their previous meeting before this is definitely one to forget for the Hornets’ faithful, they were on the receiving end of an 8-0 drubbing at the Etihad in 2019.

However, there is a silver lining for Watford fans as Ranieri is undefeated as a manager against the Sky Blues in the Premier League, winning eight and drawing once.

What’s the latest team news?

City trio Ilkay Gundogan, John Stones and Kyle Walker all missed Wednesday’s win over Aston Villa but in his press conference on Friday, Guardiola confirmed they are fit to travel down south on Saturday.

Ferran Torres, who suffered a foot injury on international duty with Spain in October, remains unavailable. The forward is still some time off being fully fit.

As for Kevin De Bruyne, the Belgian returned to training on Thursday after recently testing positive for Covid-19 and Pep has confirmed he could be in the matchday squad.

There is more positive news for the Sky Blues with Laporte available for selection again following his suspension. And Jack Grealish and Phil Foden could be in contention to start on Saturday evening, after the pair made the bench against Villa.

City’s squad has strength in depth and Guardiola has several options to replace Torres against Watford. Walker’s return to the squad could see him start at right-back, however, Joao Cancelo is expected to continue in the role.

Pep could opt to start Laporte alongside Dias in the centre of defence, or continue with Nathan Ake to partner the latter while Stones might not be rushed back.

The Sky Blues’ fluidity in style allows for them to line-up in either of Pep’s favoured 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 formations. Rodri and Fernandinho could sit as holding-midfielders, while Silva plays in a number 10 role. Or Guardiola could choose to play the trio as a three-man midfield with Fernadinho sitting slightly deeper than the other two.

The hosts have several names on the sidelines with Adam Masina the latest to be added to a long list. The Moroccan had to have an MRI scan on Thursday after sustaining an injury in the first-half against Chelsea. This led to experienced defender Danny Rose replacing him at left-back.

Other players that are set to miss the game on Saturday evening through injury are; Kwadwo Baah (ankle), Oghenekaro Etebo (muscle), Ben Foster (groin), Nicolas N’Koulou (muscle), Ismaila Sarr (knee). Meanwhile, Ken Sema (knock) and Francisco Sierralta (thigh) could be back to playing sooner rather than later.

The unavailability of Sarr is a big miss for the Hornets. The forward is their joint-second highest scorer in the league with five goals. In his absence Ranieri will call upon Emmanuel Dennis and Josh King to keep Watford above the dropzone with either player able to play on the wing or up top.

Claudio has opted for a four-man defence in six of his seven games in charge of the club so far and it’s expected he’ll stick with that come Saturday with the Italian favouring a 4-1-4-1 formation so far.

With the above injuries in question and a solid performance in Wednesday’s match against Chelsea, it wouldn’t be a shock if the Hornets line-up as they did against the league-leaders, bar Masina who is expected to be replaced by Rose.

Predicted line-ups:

Warford (4-1-4-1): Bachmann; Femina, Troost-Ekong, Cathcart, Rose; Louza; Dennis, Cleverley, Sissoko, Pedro, King.

Manchester City (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Cancelo, Dias, Laporte, Zinchenko; Rodri, Fernandinho; Mahrez, Silva, Grealish, Sterling

Is the match on TV?

The match will be shown live in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, with pre-match coverage starting at 5pm. Alternatively, Sky customers can stream the game live on the Sky Go app.

How can I watch highlights?

The Sky Sports app and YouTube channel is the best place to view the main moments from the game, and both Watford’s and City’s websites will have the highlights after the game ends.

As usual, Match of the Day will show all of this weekend’s highlights, starting with Saturday’s action at 1.20pm on BBC One and 10:30pm on the same channel for Sunday’s games.