You have to go back to 1995 to find the last time Watford played in the top flight and managed to survive. This year though, there seems to not be a heck of a lot of doubt left. As we head into the second half of the season, the Hornets sit seventh on the table, and they're only three points off of a spot in the Champions League versus 12 clear of relegation. A match at home against Manchester City is all of a sudden looking incredibly vital to kick off the new year.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
It's really tough to properly read Watford. At this point in the year, a team which is seventh on the table should be at least in the discussion at home against any team in the league. However, in this case, we still expect Manchester City to be an odds on favorite on the road and favored by at least a full goal on the Asian Handicap.
KEY INJURIES
Joel Ekstrand, Rene Gilmartin and Tommy Hoban are all long-term absentees for Watford, but for the most part, Quique Sanchez Flores has had a relatively clean bill of health.
Vincent Kompany came back in the lineup for Manchester City for a very brief stint, but he almost immediately came off with a calf injury. It's unknown how long he'll be out for, but he almost certainly won't be available until deep into January.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"We need Vincent, but this team doesn't depend on one player. It seems that we have a crisis, but we don't have a crisis. We are in all the competitions and we did that without a lot of important players." – Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini on the second loss of Vincent Kompany to injury this season
RECENT FORM
Boy, oh boy, Watford! The Hornets drew Chelsea on Boxing Day and were unfortunate not to get all three points from their trip to Stamford Bridge. That comes on the heels of wins over Liverpool, Sunderland, Norwich City and Aston Villa. In fact, if you really go back and look at it, the last really bad result Watford had was a 3-0 loss at home against Arsenal.
Manchester City has rebounded nicely from a loss yet again. The Citizens could've won by more than a 4-1 margin at home against Sunderland. That's now three wins in four matches for Man City, though no one is particularly excited about any of it.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
There's just no stopping Odion Ighalo right now. He has 12 goals already on the season on 30 shots on target, and with the way the Manchester City defense is going right now, we just can't see him being slowed down on this one.
In the end though, the Citizens are just too strong to not put at least two in the back of the Watford net themselves.
You just never know what Watford is going to bring to the table. Vicarage Road is going to be rocking and rolling on Saturday in what might have that feel of the first truly massive game in this stadium in the top flight in England in quite some time.
What we are confident in is goals. The number to beat very well could be a flat three, but we aren't sure that's going to be enough to keep it under. In fact, we could see this being a truly cracking affair. We fancy three goals a side to provide some fireworks to the new year.
Watford 3, Manchester City 3
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here, so start betting with BookMaker today! The fixture between Watford and Manchester City will take place at 12:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 2, 2016 at Vicarage Road. The game will be broadcast live on NBC.
