Watford fight their corner
Fighting on all fronts
This is not the game Man City need at the moment. Watford may be eighth in the league but they've been playing some great football and are chasing a spot in Europe next season. Man City on the other hand face Schalke 04 in the Champions League and Swansea in the FA Cup in their next two fixtures.
Their focus on getting through games and reserving some energy has been clear in their recent displays against West Ham and Bournemouth which they won 1-0 and 0-1 respectively.
This will be a match that Watford will be bang up for, but City will be eager just to come away with three points and focus on their cup fixtures. After all, they are current Premier League Champions, surely Guardiola and the powers to be will now be focused on conquering Europe.
Corners
Man City may have only won their last two games 1-0 but their corner stats are truly astronomical. Against West Ham they racked up 13 and against Bournemouth 14. That's higher than the average for both teams in a Premier League match.
Key Stat: Man City are picking up more corners per game than the average total for both teams in a Premier League match.
If you look at the last time the two met at Vicarage Road in December, Watford won 3 corners and Man City won 11 - the match ended 1-2 to City.
I foresee Watford winning only one or two corners this match but Man City winning more than last time.
Key Stat: Manchester City have picked up the most corners in the Premier League this season (224). Thirty-seven more corners than Liverpool who have the second most.
Sensible Citizens
I think Watford may cause Man City some problems this match but City will look to put in another efficient, if slightly underwhelming performance and eke out a 1-0 or 2-0.
Watford, despite their impressive performances this season, have a poor record against the top-six, losing seven times against those teams. I don't see them overcoming this new mature City; a City that needs three points to stay above Liverpool.
Betting tip
I think Man City alone will get over 10 corners at the Etihad. But I also think Watford might steal a couple, so I am confident there will be over 10 in total. I am therefore betting on over 9.5 corners in total.
