Man City vs Watford Prediction: Citizens to progress

Two days after their dramatic 2-2 draw with Arsenal in the Premier League, Manchester City are in Carabao Cup third round action against Watford, with the two sides meeting at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday (19:45, Sky Sports+).

The Hornets have failed to win in their last three matches in the Championship, and they are going to be in for a tough trip here. Read on for my Man City vs Watford prediction, including match odds and team news.

Man City vs Watford Odds

Man City are 1/8, or an 88.9% chance, to win this tie in 90 minutes. Watford are valued at 16/1, giving them an implied probability of 5.9%. The draw can be backed at 13/2 (13.3%).

The hosts are 1/20 to win the tie and Watford are priced at 8/1. Both teams to score is on offer at 11/10 and over 2.5 goals is marketed at 4/11.

Football Odds

Team News 

City midfielder Rodri went through the wars against the Gunners on Sunday. He collided with Kai Havertz in the opening seconds before picking up a knee injury in a coming together with Thomas Partey which led to him being taken off.

Fans are nervously waiting to hear the extent of his injury and he is of course a doubt to play a part in Tuesday's clash with Watford. Kevin De Bruyne was not fit enough to make the squad last time out after he picked up a knock in the Champions League stalemate with Inter Milan last Wednesday.

He is expected to miss out again so that he is given more time to recover. Oscar Bobb and Nathan Ake remain sidelined, and while the former is expected to be out until later this year, it is hoped the latter will be able to return to action next month.

In the absence of De Bruyne and Rodri, Phil Foden could be given a rare start, as minutes have been hard to come by for last year's Premier League Player of the Season. Jack Grealish made an impact from the bench and played a role in City's late equaliser against the Gunners, so he could be in line for a recall here.

Pep Guardiola could delve into the Under-21s side to flesh out the squad for this one to allow some of his stars to recover from Sunday's draining contest, but also to hand an opportunity to some of the young upcoming talent. One name in particular that comes to mind is Nico O'Reilly, a midfielder who the club have high hopes for.

For Watford, they are expected to be without Daniel Bachmann and Francisco Sierralta after both were withdrawn early on in their defeat to Norwich City on Saturday. Kevin Keben is also in the medical bay, while forward Daniel Jebbison is cup-tied, having already featured for Bournemouth this season.

Man City and under 3.5 goals @ 6/5

I think this is going to be a tough ask for Watford, who head to the Etihad in a disappointing run of form, and this will be a huge learning curve for Hornets boss Tom Cleverley.

Guardiola is likely to make alterations to his side but there will still be plenty of the quality out on the pitch, especially when you are expecting Foden and Grealish to have big roles to play.

City will be frustrated with their overall performance on Sunday but will be pleased that they were able to take a point in the end, so they will want to go out and deliver a more convincing performance in front of their fans. This applies to the prospective young talents who could be handed their senior debuts in this clash, they will want to show the fans a glimpse of what's to come in the future.

A test against a Championship side would certainly aid their development, and on home soil, I think a heavily-rotated Man City side will still manage to come out on top here. However, I don't see it being a game in which Watford are blown away, having gone for under 3.5 goals, but I still expect them to be beaten relatively comfortably.

Phil Foden anytime goalscorer @ 6/5

Foden has found game time hard to come by so far in 2024/25, so he will be eager to start this cup tie to try and force is his way back into Guardiola's first XI. We thought that would happen in De Bruyne's absence, but still the Englishman was reduced to a cameo from the bench.

He will have a point to prove out on the pitch as let's not forget he was key for Man City in their record-breaking fourth consecutive Premier League title win last term, scoring 19 goals and providing eight assists.

That talent hasn't gone anywhere, he's just been starved of opportunities at the moment, so if he features on Tuesday I'm expecting him to grasp this chance with both hands and put on a show against the Hornets.

I think he's worth backing to score because he will need something to get back into his manager's thinking for both the Premier League and Champions League fixtures. Watford conceded four in their last appearance, so he will be sensing that their defence will be vulnerable ahead of this contest, and I believe he can profit from that.

Offers

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