This Saturday will see a clash between one of this season's most exciting teams and another that represent everything that's wrong with modern football - owning multiple clubs, buying numerous players to loan them out straightaway, calls for financial investigations by the footballing authorities into their murky dealings. Now, given the media's coverage of our Udinese/Granada links and the Telegraph's back page "EXCLUSIVE! MEGASPLASH! WATFORD FORGED A LETTER!", you'd be forgiven for thinking that the Hornets were the second team I was referring to, but no, it's the mighty Citeh. Just like Watford's, City's owners have links to multiple clubs - New York City, Melbourne City, Yokahama, Girona, Club Atletico Torque(???). But unlike the Hornets, you don't hear too much about this, because when a moneyed behemoth of the game like Man City do it, they're called franchises and it's seen as a minor curiosity. On the other hand, when the Pozzos owned three provincial clubs and got them all punching above their weight by pooling resources, we were left in no doubt by the media and pundits that this was "everything wrong with modern football" and scorn and outrage rained down from assorted imbeciles. People like the Pozzos aren't fit to be owners you see, what with their money made from a family power tool business and then grown through prudent and innovative ownership of football clubs. The type of owners that we want in the game are those that can financially dope Manchester's second team into being one of the richest on the planet, all through money funneled from those well-known respecters of Human Rights, the royal family of Abu Dhabi. That's before we even start on Manchester City loaning five players to Girona this season, a club they jointly own with Pep Guardiola's brother, the ludicrously named Pere. Nothing to see here, move along, let's write another article about the forged Watford letter and how they had four managers in a season several years ago. See, for the Premier League and all the assorted pundits and journalists that make their living writing about it, it's the product that matters most. As long as clubs like Manchester City bring in the star names and splash the cash, everything else can be overlooked, so integral are they to the image of the Premier League. Watford, on the other hand, are seen as interlopers, passing through, barely registering as anything other than six point fodder for the global fans of the big teams. You can howl your outrage about a team the size of Watford, make the snide remarks every Soccer Saturday or in your column in The Mail and it doesn't even make a dent in the worldwide reputation of the all-conquering Premier League, so it's little wonder their sights are trained on the smaller clubs. Anyway, there's a game on this Saturday, where our Marco Silva inspired heroes are going to come up against a team that cost approximately £500 trillion. As per usual, we have an injury crisis amongst the eight senior centre backs on our books with Hoban and Cathcart being out long-term, Prodl and Kaboul suffering knocks and Miguel Britos enjoying a five week holiday by cleverly coinciding his ban with the international break. Still, at least we're in a better position than the last time we played Man City at home when Mazzarri turned the banter dial up to 10 by starting with a back three of Holebas, Janmaat and Behrami and picking two keepers on the bench. Roberto Pereyra could be back for this game, or he might be this season's Isaac Success, always two weeks away from being fit enough to play. Femenia went to hospital after the Southampton win but luckily "Man of Steel" Daryl Janmaat is back to play the first 20 minutes of the game if required. Not sure who's injured/suspended for Man City but there's a chance that they might have to put the error-prone Claudio Bravo in goal after their regular keeper got kung fu kicked in the bonce by Sadio Mane at the weekend and had to have a plaster put on for his cheek for the second half. Tiki-taka inventing sociopath Pep Guardiola will roll into town, doing his usual act of wearing a cashmere sweater and speaking softly to give the impression of being a nice guy but then being an complete arse any time he's asked a question he doesn't like. Hopefully, he'll be storming out of the post match interview before Lineker's had a chance to remind everyone that he speaks a few words of Spanish. Anyway, we haven't taken a point off this bunch since our return to the Premier League, with the goals scored record reading a rather sad: For 1, Against 11. This is even with us employing such tactical innovations as Mazzarri's aforementioned "3 at the back but none of them are centre backs" and Quique's much-loved 4-6-0 formation. Still, we're a different beast this season, this is now 2nd against 4th, and they have a Champions League game away at Steven Berghuis' Feyenoord on Wednesday night to negotiate. It's now or never, let's win it for football's good guys! COYH!
Early title decider? Should be another easy victory. Watford 3-1 Man City Scorers: Cleverly, Richarlison, Kabasele. MOTM: Doucoure Great odds at 10/1, worth £20.
This write up nearly broke my phone. Good work! I'll go with a steady 4-1 home win. Gray x 2, Richarlison, Chalobah.
Tbf ... I expect them to beat us but it will be a slender thing. Much will depend on Richarlison and Carillo's threat out wide and us keeping cool heads in defence ... Also having Chabs and Doucoure competing in the middle should make things difficult. No doubt Aguero will score against us as usual but City will have a job on their hands to keep us out .... we could get lucky.
With City going to Feyenoord on Wednesday I think we couldn't really play them at a better time. I also wonder whether the mindset of the City players will be that having beaten Liverpool 5-0 that they may approach the match in a more relaxed manor. Given how well we are playing, I think that we will give them a good game, my suggested bet would be Watford (+1 handicap)
Now for a real test. As long as we give them a good run for their money I'll be happy. Should we get something from it then the pundits will have to take notice. That would really flag us up as being proper 'contenders' at this early stage. The 'injury problem' remains a worry. How good will we be when Marco can put out his first eleven without any compromises and can make substitutions of his own choosing rather than those that are forced upon him?
And us at the same venue only 4 months ago. Britos is suspended so that's a lot of pressure to put on Holebas to perform.
In fairness to Mazzarri we had literally nobody else who could play at the back at the time. I much preferred Quiques 4-6-0 with Troy at right wing back and Jurado as the target man. THAT was innovative.
They are very good going forward but a bit iffy at the back but our lack of numbers in defence is a concern so think we may come back to earth with a bump 1-3
Mariappa's absence was the sole difference between two evenly matched teams last time City visited. Home win this time.
Will be interesting to judge where we are I don't see a landslide and their defence definitely has some holes in it, but overall I think they have too much quality for us 0-2 or 1-2 maybe
3-1 or 4-2 City. There will be goals. They will score a lot of goals but we'll see good football from both sides and a good battle.
If we try and play defensive we're screwed. Our only chance is to try and nick lots of goals and hope it's within a few of what they score.
The general consensus is that we will win this game easily and it's very hard to disagree, just as long as we don't allow any complacency. Watford 5-2 Man City Richarlison 14, Capoue 88, Carillo, 90+6, Deeney 90+8, 90+10; Aguero 81, Deeney (og) 85. No drama.
Let's not get ahead of ourselves just yet haha. We all know that if we get something from this game, the 10 minute analysis will be about how bad/poor/rubbish etc City were. We will get about 15 seconds of praise with the cliche line of "fair play to Watford though, they took advantage of a very poor City and got something."
Could go top for 24 hours if we win (depending on what Huddersfield do). Will be a difficult weekend for the pundits if we pull it off
We are due to give someone an absolute hammering and I think Man City could be the unlucky recipients. Watford 8-0 Man City.
The thing I hate, but admire, the most about Man City is they way they open the opposition up, there is no better team in the league at that. Then when they are through, you know they are 9/10 likely to score. Watford 3 - Man City 1
If we want to be considered serious title contenders then these are the games we have to win. On paper we have the better team all across the pitch in nearly every position. The only ones that might get a place in our starting 11 is KDB and Silva. I know we already have the best Silva out there, but their Silva has modeled his appearance on Amrabat and since our Silva didn't want Amrabat gone, he would probably take his twin. All in all this is a big game for City. They will see us as the bar they are trying to reach and a win against the 'Orns will be a real scalp for them. They will approach this a their cup final and be really up for it. However I suspect we will just have too much quality for them to deal with. Going for a conservative 5-1 win for Watford
My head says a -2 goal defeat for us, taking everything into consideration a point for us would be amazing!
When I saw we were playing Manchester this weekend, I got excited that a big club was coming to the Vic. Whilst City make headlines for spending hundreds of millions, it's all to easy to forget about the second biggest club in a county. I'm sure they'll try and rough up Richarlison and Doucoure, and we'll have to be ready for that. This is really a match about discipline and concentration. Concede a soft goal to these cloggers, and Manchester B might just hold on for a famous victory. And if they steal the points, notice how quickly their commercial machine fires out commemorative half-and-half scarves, DVDs and bus parades so that people are forced to remember they exist, before the main Manchester team plays the following day. So for this week, I'm going to uncharacteristically sit on the fence with my prediction. First goal to us and it will be an absolute walk in the park, 4-0. First goal to them, and we'll drop points and will probably get a few injuries from their overexcited, overexuberant lumps.
Probably a wind up but, Kevin De Bruyne. However I didn't know how to spell his last name so went the KDB route.
If we are to win, Or have a good go at the game this coming saturday, Doucoure and Chalobah need to be at there very best, (Although they have been 10/10 so far). The way City uses there wingbacks and Midfielders to pass intricately and such we need the Battleship Destroyers of Doucoure and Chalobah to break that up. Gray needs to start along with Richarlison and Carrilo, Those three with there pace will abuse Otamendi like Salah did for 30 minutes in last weeks game. Either City blow us out 5-0, Or we beat them 3-2. Something along those cards. Odds on for Otamendi to see red or Janmaat to bust a hip?
Plus they play Wednesday evening. Hopefully there will be a fair bit of rotation, and thus rustiness. I generally fear an unrotated team at the beginning of the season, and a rotated one at the end.
