Watford vs Man City Odds: Bank of Sterling to improve impressive record

Watford welcome Manchester City to Vicarage Road for Saturday’s late kick-off, and will be glad to see the back of the gauntlet of fixtures they’ve had since the start of November.

The Hornets have faced Arsenal, Manchester United, Leicester, and Chelsea since Halloween, picking up just three points, and now round off the run by facing Pep Guardiola’s side The Vic.

The good news for them is that that run is coming to an end, the bad news is they still have to face the Blues - who have dominated the recent history of this fixture.

Over the last three meetings, Watford have been outscored by 18 goals to nil. EIGHTEEN.

In fact, this tie has been won thirteen times in a row by Saturday’s visitors - including hammering their hosts by four or more goals in four of the last five meetings outside of Manchester.

It’s already a mammoth task for Claudio Ranieri’s side and, while they haven’t taken many points, they can take solace in their performances since his appointment.

On the face of it, they’re a side that’s lost nine of 14 games and are languishing just above the relegation zone.

Anyone that’s watched their last couple of games will know that isn’t the case though, and it’s fair to say they have been unlucky not to pick up all three points against both Leicester and Chelsea in the last 7 days.

They were involved in a six-goal thriller at the King Power last Saturday, a game in which they accumulated more xG than the Foxes, and went toe-to-toe with an admittedly lacklustre Chelsea side.

They accrued more xG than the table toppers too, and that is - in no small part - thanks to a certain Nigerian forward.

Emmanuel Dennis has been a revelation under Ranieri, notching four goals and registering four assists in his six appearances under the Italian.

He is one of only two players in the Premier League (the other being Mo Salah) to score 5+ goals and register 5+ assists so far this season, and he’s become the focal point of their attack over the last month.

He’s stepped up at the right time too, with The Hornets battling a plethora of injuries in all areas of the field.

Left-back Adam Masina was the latest to join those on the sidelines, leaving Wednesday’s game with Chelsea after just 12 minutes sporting a thigh injury that looks likely to keep him out for a while.

It means Ranieri is dealing with a league-high eight players with injuries - including winger Ismaila Sarr and YouTuber Ben Foster, who both look likely to be out until at least the new year.

Pep Guardiola has also been dealing with a mini-injury crisis up in Manchester, though a good amount of his players should be available for this one.

Jack Grealish and Phil Foden both returned to the bench for the midweek win at Villa Park, where the former was booed relentlessly during his 3-minute cameo, while those who missed out could be ready to return here.

Kyle Walker, Ilkay Gundogan, John Stones (all injured) and Aymeric Laporte (suspension) should all be in contention to feature at Vicarage Road; whilst Kevin De Bruyne has a slim chance of being involved. Ferran Torres, however, remains out until 2022.

The Blues have won six straight in all competitions, and know they’ll need a win here to keep up the pressure on Chelsea and Liverpool in this scintillating title race.

Raheem Sterling LOVES playing Watford. In eight career starts against the Hornets, he has eight wins and ten goals. In his last three games against them he’s scored seven times.

He’s also in good recent form, since the start of November he’s started four games and scored three goals. 13/8 on him to score against an opponent he averages 1.25 goals per game against is definitely intriguing.

Oh Danny Rose. Kevin Friend takes charge here and I’m hoping he finally books him for his escapades against Arsenal a few weeks ago.

He committed four fouls in that game, including giving away a penalty, and a few were certainly worthy of a yellow.

He was booked against Chelsea in midweek after replacing Masina to make it four yellows in five home appearances and is certainly susceptible to a card now he’s lost a bit of that pace that made him so good at Tottenham.

Joao Cancelo is one of several elite full-backs currently plying their trade in the Premier League but that doesn’t mean he isn’t partial to a card.

He has picked up eight bookings in his last 14 starts for club and country and might now have to deal with the enigmatic Emmanuel Dennis who caused Chelsea all sorts of problems last time out.

He drew five fouls in that game, with Marcos Alonso and Saul Niguez picking up bookings for theirs, and is one of only thirty or so players to suffer 20 or more fouls this season.

All Three Selections @ 31/1 with Betfair

This price for all three selections to land appeals at Betfair, and is much better than the 18/1 offered elsewhere. I’d also recommend a small dabble on Emmanuel Dennis to score and be carded at 24/1. He has five goals and six bookings and has seen this happen twice already this season.