David Silva Manchester City 2018-19Getty Images

Man City Team News: Injuries, suspensions and line-up vs Watford

Pep Guardiola faces a selection conundrum for Manchester City's meeting with Watford, with the Spaniard juggling a hectic December fixture schedule with various injuries and knocks.

Kevin De Bruyne is still recovering from a knee injury, while Sergio Aguero could miss out again, with Guardiola likely to have one eye on the clash with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge at the weekend.

The visit to Watford will be an opportunity for the league leaders to move further ahead of second-placed Liverpool, who sit just two points behind them in the league but do not play until Wednesday.

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Man City Injuries


De Bruyne is still recovering from a ligament injury that has blighted his season so far, and Benjamin Mendy is also likely to be out until the New Year.

Bernardo Silva is expected to have made a full recovery to feature against Watford, while Gabriel Jesus is set to shake off a muscle injury to be available for selection.

Reserve goalkeeper Claudio Bravo is also sidelined, while Sergio Aguero is seemingly not available following reports that he did not travel with the rest of the squad to London.

Raheem Sterling was in top form against Bournemouth on Saturday but he may start from the bench, with the game against Chelsea in mind.

Kevin De Bruyne Manchester City 2018-19Getty Images

Man City Suspensions


City have no suspensions, though Watford's Etienne Capoue will begin a three-match ban for the red card he received against Leicester City.


Man City Potential Starting Line-Up


Despite Guardiola needing to juggle various fitness issues and the potential need to rotate, Ederson, Kyle Walker, Fernandinho and David Silva are all expected to start.

Should Bernardo Silva fail to regain match fitness in time for the trip to Watford, Phil Foden could be given the nod, while John Stones could potentially partner Aymeric Laporte, with Vincent Kompany and Nicolas Otamendi also options.

Fabian Delph will be pushing for a start at left-back, although Oleksandr Zinchenko, who would require the use of a protective mask after his facial injury sustained against Bournemouth, is the alternative.

Aguero's likely absence means that Gabriel Jesus is set to lead the line again, and it remains to be seen which combination Guardiola will go with to support the Brazilian, with Leroy Sane, Riyad Mahrez and Sterling all options.

Man City predicted XI Watford

Watford Team News


Capoue is currently awaiting the outcome of the appeal over his red card following his red card against Leicester at the weekend and, should it be upheld, he'll miss the club's next three matches.

Daryl Janmaat and Tom Cleverley are both injury doubts and are not expected to feature against the league leaders.


Opta Match Facts


  • Manchester City have scored at least twice in their last eight meetings with Watford in all competitions, winning all eight by an aggregate score of 27-4.
  • Manchester City’s last two away league games against Watford have seen them win 5-0 and 6-0 – the only team to score 5+ goals in three consecutive top-flight away games against an opponent is West Brom vs Birmingham, between December 1957 and April 1960.
  • Only Preston in the first ever football league campaign of 1888-89 (+43) have had a better goal difference 14 games into a top-flight season than Man City’s +37 this term.
  • Manchester City are unbeaten in 13 away Premier League games, winning 10 and drawing three. In that run they’ve scored 30 goals, while conceding just five and never more than once in a match.
  • Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero has scored 10 goals in six games against Watford in all competitions, including a hat-trick in this exact fixture last term.
  • Man City’s Raheem Sterling has had a hand in 14 goals in his 12 Premier League games this season (8 goals, 6 assists), more than any other player in the competition.

TV Coverage and Kick-Off Time


Kick-off is 19:45 GMT (14:45 ET) on Tuesday and will be showed live on BT Sport 1 in the United Kingdom. It will be shown on NBCSN in the United States, and on various channels around the world.

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