Technically speaking, Manchester City has yet to lock up a Top 4 finish in the Premier League. The Citizens will need at least a point to get the job done against Watford, but if by chance they're behind, they're going to be scoreboard watching for what's going on at the Emirates. Arsenal can hop into the Top 4 with a win and a Man City loss if the two results combine to be by more than five goals.
Don't miss the BPL action from Vicarage Road at 10 a.m. ET on Sunday, May 21, 2017. Catch every moment of the match live on the NBC family of networks.
Soccer Odds at BookMaker.eu
Watford +650
Manchester City -250
Draw +350
Over/Under 2.5
Odds Analysis
The ball is clearly in Manchester City's court at this point. Just a point is good enough to finish third (unless Liverpool beats Middlesbrough by more than three goals, then City would finish fourth), but you just know that Pep Guardiola isn't going to want to leave anything to chance. That's why City is set at -250 on the moneyline and is laying a full goal on the Asian Handicap even though the trip to Vicarage Road is destined to not be an easy one.
Key Injuries
City is going to go into this last match of the season without Claudio Bravo, Ilkay Gundogan and Fabian Delph, but aside from that, all are around for selection into the Starting XI. Having Delph would have helped for sure, but it's not like he's an option without replacement on a deep team.
Watford has plenty of problems that it's going to have to work through over the course of the next several months to not be plighted into the relegation scrap again next season. The Hornets are going to need a new manager first and foremost, as boss Walter Mazzarri is going to leave the club after this last match of the season.
Thus this last side should be interesting the Hornets send on the pitch. We know that Miguel Britos, Craig Cathcart, Mauro Zarate, Younes Kaboul and Robert Pereyra are out of the fold, but what we don't know is whether Christian Kabasele is going to be on the pitch or not. We also know that Sebastian Prodl has been suspended for this last fixture of the year after getting a red card for two cautions against Chelsea midweek.
Recent Form
It's amazing after going four straight matches without scoring a goal that the Hornets were able to net three against one of the best defensive teams in the nation. Chelsea though, was far more interested in celebrating its championship at Stamford Bridge than anything else, and even with its defensive woes, it still won 4-3.
Manchester City did the job over the course of the last three fixtures of the regular season, winning all three at home against Crystal Palace, Leicester City and West Brom without any incident. But the last time the Citizens were on the road, they drew 2-2 at Middlesbrough, and that's a really potentially bad sign.
Free Soccer Betting Pick
Perhaps the Watford players knew that they were playing for Mazzari for one of the final times last week against the Blues, and that's what created the inspired effort. Now though, we can't see a matching intensity. The Hornets are going to go into next season with relegation clearly looming, while Manchester City will be looking forward to a likely entirely new side with so many names being transferred in. Those names will earn the benefit of the Champions League in 2017-18 after closing this season with three points at Vicarage Road.
BPL Odds: Manchester City 3, Watford 1
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