John Stones, Nathan Ake and Kyle Walker will be assessed tomorrow with Guardiola expected to rotate his squad
Manchester City vs Watford
Competition: F.A. Premier League
Date: 3.00pm, Saturday 23rd April 2022
Venue: Etihad Stadium, Manchester
Referee: Kevin Friend Assistants: A Holmes, S Beck Fourth Official: J Moss VAR: L Mason
Odds: City 1/10, Draw 9/1, Watford 25/1
Tickets: Available via mancity.com
TV: Match of the Day
Manchester City
Manager: Pep Guardiola
Squad (from): Ederson, Steffen, Carson, Walker, Stones, Ake, Zinchenko, Laporte, Cancelo, Gundogan, Grealish, Rodri, De Bruyne, Silva, Fernandinho, Foden, McAtee, Sterling, Jesus, Mahrez
Injured: Walker
Doubtful: Ake, Stones
Suspended: Mendy
Form guide: WDDLW
Watford
Manager: Roy Hodgson
Squad (from): Foster, Bachmann, Elliot, Ngakia, Rose, Troost-Ekong, Masina, Nkoulou, Kamara, Cathcart, Femenia, Smir, Kabasele, Sierralta, Etebo, Louza, Cleverley, Sema, Gosling, Sissoko, Pussetto, Kucka, Bahh, Kayembe, King, Pedro, Sarr, Dennis, Kalu
Injured: Hernandez
Doubtful: Carvallo, Kalu, Troost-Ekong, Baah, Nkolou
Suspended: None
Form guide: LWLLL
Defensive trio John Stones, Nathan Ake and Kyle Walker are injury doubts for the visit of Watford, and will be assessed tomorrow morning.
Ake and Stones were both withdrawn against Brighton midweek, whilst Walker sustained an ankle injury against Atletico Madrid. There were fears that the right-back could be sidelined for some time, although Pep Guardiola offered an encouraging update at his press conference on Friday.
“He is getting better,” said the manager.
“We will see tomorrow.
“[John had] a niggle. Little problems, like Nathan. Today we make an assessment, tomorrow we decide.”
Guardila is expected to rotate tomorrow, with one eye on the Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid on Tuesday evening, and admitted that he is having to carefully manage his squad at this stage of the season.
“When you have just three days the day after the game the guys who didn't play train properly, the others refresh for tomorrow,” he added.
“We try to avoid extra energy and keep it for the right time. We finished the game [Brighton] at 10pm and we play at 3pm tomorrow. I
“In that time it’s just [about] refreshing the head.”
City drew their last home game against Watford 8-0, with David Silva, Sergio Aguero, Riyad Mahrez, Nicolas Otamendi, Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva (3) netting for the Blues. Overall City have won 21 of the 32 games played against the Hornets, with 5 draws and 6 defeats.
Predicted line-up: Ederson, Cancelo, Dias, Laporte, Zinchenko, Rodri, Bernardo, De Bruyne, Grealish, Foden, Sterling
Score prediction: City 3 Watford 0