Manchester City v Watford – Head To Head

Manchester City welcome Watford to Etihad Stadium, as they seek to get their title challenge back on track after last week’s surprise defeat at Norwich.

The blues sit in second place in the table, five points behind leaders Liverpool, while the Hornets are propping up the rest of the league, are still seeking their first win of the season and have just two points from their first five matches. On paper, it should be a routine win for City, especially after the way the blues took Watford apart at Wembley in May. However after last week’s result proved, nothing is guaranteed. Let’s take a look at what the stats say about this fixture

Win, Win And Another Win For City

City love playing against Watford in Manchester. From the last eleven matches played at both Etihad and Maine Road, the blues have won 10 and drawn just one – a goalless draw in December 2006. That draw was only the second time the blues have failed to score at home to Watford, the other coming in March 1986 when Watford won 1-0 at Maine Road in a mid-table clash between the two sides

How Times Have Changed Since Last Home Defeat

The last time Watford won at City, the Hornets were 9^th in the First Division, and a mere 20 points from league leaders Everton. City meanwhile, were bottom of the league and faced with the very real possibility of relegation – again. Watford won 2-1 in April 1987. Already this season, the blues are eight points clear of the Hornets.

Goals Everywhere – Eventually

Matches against Watford were typically low scoring games, but in recent seasons, the blues have been knocking them in against the Hornets. The blues have scored an average of 2.64 goals in there last eleven home matches and have scored three or more in eight of those games. Over four matches played between November 1987 and August 2001, City scored three in each.

Overall, the blues have scored 34 goals in 17 matches, an average of 2 per game, while conceding just 14, an average of just 1.21 per game. City have failed to score on two occasions, while keeping seven clean sheets.

Cup Matches Also Belong To City - Just

City and Watford have played each other in cup competitions seven times in Manchester, although their first FA Cup meeting didn’t go to plan. The two teams played out a 1-1 draw in Manchester, then drew 0-0 at Vicarage Road, before losing the second replay (they existed then) 3-1 at Maine Road. Since then, City have won all their cup matches played in Manchester.

Will City continue the trend and beat Watford today, or will the Hornets sting the blues with another surprise result?