Manchester City v Watford Date & Time : 25th January 2014 3 PM Kick Off Venue : The Etihad, The City of Manchester Stadium or Eastlands (take your pick) Competition : The FA Cup (with Budweiser) Round 4 With a nod to The BBC, ESPN and The Watford Observer..... Well here we are again. The Hornets travel up north to face a City side who are on a daunting run of form - still in contention for four trophies and scoring a remarkable 106 goals in their 35 games so far this season. They have won 16 of their last 18 matches - and drawn the other two. Phew. Watford have shown some indifferent recent form but are a tougher nut to crack defensively under the Beppe Sannino regime. The Teams City top scorer Alvaro Negredo (shoulder) and playmaker David Silva (hamstring) will both miss out, but defender Micah Richards could feature. Goalkeeper Costel Pantilimon is likely to continue in the cups and youngster Marcos Lopes could get another chance. Watford are without Lewis McGugan, who has a thigh problem, as they attempt to become the first English club to win away at City this season. He joins suspended duo Fitz Hall and Alexander Merkel on the sidelines. Essaid Belkalem and Tommie Hoban (both ankle) remain absent and Hector Bellerin's mum says he isn't allowed out to play today. From the Dressing Room City boss Manuel Pellegrini believes the Hornets will provide tough opposition. He said: "It is a team that is not in a very good position in the Championship but all the managers know the cup games are different games. "There is more motivation for a Championship team to beat a Premier League team so I am absolutely sure we are going to have a very difficult game." Watford boss Sannino replied: âImpossible. I never dreamed that it could happen. It is unbelievable and incredible and I want to enjoy the day with everyone. âI want to have a good mind without pressure. This is a game that is a gift for us.â He added: âIt is the most wonderful and beautiful match because two months ago I would never had dreamed I would be at Manchester City." Comments welcome Enjoy the game
Yes, yes. I know I Americanised the date in the title. I have obviously been here far too long. Apologies.
Good thread Saxet.... I am going.... and going to away games oop north I haven't seen us lose this season... fingers crossed...
OK. I've heard what others have said about what happens if you have a go at City, BUT, surely there's no point in sitting back. Blackburn did it for a half (and City didn't bother turning up for the first half) and look what happened. Don't we just need to give it a go with Anya and FF running at them a bit? Is Ranegie anywhere near match fit yet? That may be a bit different if he was. And a score prediction? Let's give us a goal, 4-1.
WatfordFC: Bond; Doyley, Ekstrand, Angella, Pudil; Faraoni, Murray, Battochio, Anya; Forestieri, Deeney WatfordFC subs: Almunia (GK), Hoban, O'Nien, Abdi, Fabbrini, Cassetti, Ranegie.
Man City: Pantilimon, Richards, Demichelis, Lescott, Kolarov, Navas, Rodwell, Toure (C), Lopes, Aguero, Dzek
