Here are the lineups as Manchester City can close out the season at Craven Cottage hoping to stop its winless streak in the Premier League against Watford today.
Watford v Manchester City
Watford (6-1-2) XI: Deeney, Pereyra, Doucoure, Anya, Watson, Doukara, Holebas, Doucoure, Deulofeu, Success, Deeney.
Manchester City (9-0-1) XI: Ederson, Danilo, Stones, Otamendi, Kompany, Delph, Fernandinho, Gundogan, Leroy Sane, Silva, Aguero.
Watford boss Marco Silva has dropped influential captain Troy Deeney to the bench for the second successive game due to a thigh injury. Matej Vydra is starting up front and several long-range efforts on goal have been thwarted. Silva will have to run the offense with no prior success today against City.
Watford held Manchester City at bay on the West London turf last season with Marcos Alonso in the central defense, only losing 3-2. City still came away with a second place finish, which has sat at the top all season long. It’s worth noting Watford has won both Premier League meetings between the two clubs, defeating the 2017 Champions League champions 2-1 in the EFL Cup in mid-September and 1-0 in a pre-season friendly in Belgium last summer.
Today’s game is a cracker of a match, and Watford could be on the verge of knocking Manchester City out of the title race. Can they gain ground on their first league defeat in seven games or could the storied English club return to level or better? We will see.