Game Week 34 Predictions: City to destroy Watford again at the Etihad

 

The Cityzens will not be kind to the Hornets on Saturday, who will save Roy Hodgson and his men from the claws of the champions? (Photo credit: Premierleague.com)

Manchester City vs Watford

Etihad

3:00pm

This feels like a David and Goliath battle, but Manchester City must be wary of Watford considering how the Hornets ended Liverpool’s unbeaten run from a relegation position; it’s a similar situation now, similar position and similar consequences… City must be wary.

Watford must win games like this if they want to survive the relegation battle. If you want to swim out of the red zones, you have to win difficult games, and they don’t come harder than a visit to the home of the league champions at a time like this.

Liverpool won’t go away; a win over United in midweek got the Kops on top of the table, but City beat Brighton a day later to regain the top spot, it is now a game of chance, and anyone that blinks first goes home, it is why we love the premier league.

Watford does not stand any chance on paper but this is football. The Hornets are down and under, Burnley won in midweek to steer clear of them in the red zone and they now sit seven points off safety, make that ten if Everton wins their outstanding game but it isn’t over yet.

As long as you’re in it mathematically, you have to keep fighting and that must be the fulcrum of what Roy Hodgson tells his players before they take to the pitch against Pep Guardiola’s side at the Etihad in the sunshine on Saturday.

Will City rotate with respect to the champions league? They play host to Real Madrid on Tuesday and they will be without Joao Cancelo and Kyle Walker due to suspension and injury respectively, it has been established that the priorities for the champions lie in Europe, but will they say no to a double?

Watford must win to stand any chance of surviving the drop with only fifteen points to fight for after this fixture against Manchester City. Where will the inspiration come from for the Hornets? Emmanuel Dennis? Cucho Hernandes? Or Mohammed Sissoko? Time will tell.

For the champions, whoever they send out will do a good job and the pressure will always be on the visitors, as it stands, it is going to be by how many goals and not whether City would win.

Verdict: Manchester City to win.