Manchester City face Watford at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
The hosts come into this match on the back of a shock 3-2 defeat to Norwich City in the previous round.
Goals from Sergio Aguero and Rodri weren’t enough to stop the reigning champions losing their first match of the season.
This upset has left Man City trailing the league leaders Liverpool by 5 points already with just 5 matches played.
Focus turns to Watford - kicking off with a @pablo_zabaleta rarity! 😍⚽️ @AvaTrade 🔵 #ManCity pic.twitter.com/NdXlmgi5jG— Manchester City (@ManCity) September 19, 2019
Focus turns to Watford - kicking off with a @pablo_zabaleta rarity! 😍⚽️ @AvaTrade 🔵 #ManCity pic.twitter.com/NdXlmgi5jG
Watford parted ways with manager Javi Gracia after failing to find a win in their opening 4 matches.
Ex-boss Quique Sanchez Flores has returned to the club, and oversaw a hard-fought 2-2 draw with Arsenal in his first match back in charge.
Watford looked to be heading for yet another defeat as they went into half-time 2-0 down. However, second-half goals from Tom Cleverly and Roberto Pereyra rescued a point for the Hornets.
Watford had a flurry of chances to win the game late on, but ultimately, Quique Sanchez Flores will be very pleased with how his team responded.
Manchester City will have fond memories of the last time these two teams met. City thrashed Watford 6-0 in the FA Cup final last season, and will no doubt be looking for a similar result this time around.
Despite City’s recent blip, they are expected to come back fighting in this match, and a convincing victory away at Shakhtar in the Champions League bodes well for this weekend.
Sergio Aguero (7) and Raheem Sterling (5) are both among the Premier League’s top goal scorers this season, and will be looking to add to their tallies on Saturday.
Manchester City have a number of injury worries, with Aymeric Laporte and John Stones missing from their defense.
As for Watford, club captain Troy Deeney and Craig Cathcart both missed the match with Arsenal in the previous round, and are unlikely to be named in the starting eleven against City.
Manchester City have won their last 11 matches against Watford in all competitions, and are also unbeaten against the Hornets in their last 16 meetings.
City have kept a clean sheet in 8 of those 16 matches, and are expected to continue this trend on Saturday.
The Sky Blues have also scored at a rate of just over 3 goals per game in the Premier League so far.
Forebet predicts a comfortable Man City victory, with over 2.5 goals for the home side.