Manchester City travel to high-flying Watford on Saturday with few injury or suspension worries to contend with.
Vincent Kompany seems set to miss out yet again but City have managed his absence well in their past two games – winning by an aggregate score of 9-0.
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City kicked off their Champions League campaign in midweek, meaning Pep Guardiola may be tempted to tweak his line-up, but with the likes of Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane in reserve, the quality of the starting XI should not be overly affected.
MAN CITY INJURIES
Kompany is likely to be out with the calf injury he picked up while on international duty with Belgium.
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Ilkay Gundogan has been fit for the past couple of weeks but is yet to see any first-team action despite being named on the bench recently.
Yaya Toure appears to be in exile over fitness concerns.
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MAN CITY SUSPENSIONS
Manchester City have no suspensions coming into the Watford fixture, though Miguel Britos is banned for the Hornets.
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MAN CITY POTENTIAL STARTING LINE-UP
It is becoming increasingly difficult to predict Guardiola’s starting line-ups, especially as he now seems willing and able to switch between his 3-4-3 and 4-3-3 systems.
It was the 4-3-3 which worked well against Feyenood in midweek and there may be a temptation to use that again, but it all depends on Guardiola’s interpretation of how best to deal with Watford, who could open themselves up more than some of City’s early Premier League opponents.
The Catalan could even name an unchanged XI following the 4-0 win in Rotterdam, given how well City played on the night.
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WATFORD TEAM NEWS
As well as Britos' suspension, Watford will be without Craig Cathcart (knee) and Roberto Pereyra (groin), while Sebastian Prodl (hamstring), Brice Dja Djedje (knock), Kiko Femenia and Younes Kaboul, who both picked up injuries against Southampton last weekend, are all unlikely to play.
Mauro Zarate is coming back from injury but is yet to feature for Marco Silva's side this season.
OPTA MATCH FACTS
- Watford have never beaten Manchester City in the Premier League, losing four of their six clashes (D2).
- Manchester City have won nine and lost none of their last 11 meetings with Watford in all competitions, last losing to them back in March 1989 at Vicarage Road in the second tier (0-1) with a goal from Iwan Roberts.
- Watford have been trailing for just 33 minutes this season in the Premier League – only Huddersfield (18 mins) and Man Utd (2) have been behind for fewer minutes.
- Manchester City have the worst disciplinary record so far this season in the Premier League, with a league-high 11 cards (nine yellow, two red). Watford have only been given a joint-league low three yellow cards in addition to a red card.
- Sergio Aguero has been involved in seven goals in four previous appearances against the Hornets in all competitions (six goals, one assist), including a hat-trick in an FA Cup match in January 2014.
- Kevin De Bruyne has assisted 2+ goals in seven different Premier League games since he made his Man City debut in September 2015, no player has done so more often (level with Christian Eriksen). The Belgian creator has provided a joint league-high 29 assists in that timeframe.
TV COVERAGE & KICK-OFF TIME
Kick off is 15:00 BST and the game will not be available to watch on television in the United Kingdom.
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