Manchester City are back in action tonight following Sunday’s 2-2 draw against Arsenal in the Premier League.
Just two days after their dramatic draw against the Gunners, Pep Guardiola’s side have another game at the Etihad Stadium ahead of them this evening.
City will be turning their attention to the Carabao Cup as they take on Championship side Watford for their third-round tie.
Ahead of this game, the Watford manager, who has previous experience of playing against City, has shared his thoughts on this current iteration of the Blues and how his side will be looking to beat them tonight.
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Tom Cleverley drops Man City warning ahead of Watford clash
Speaking in his recent press conference (via Watford’s club website), ahead of tonight’s game, Tom Cleverley had this to say about City.
He said: “It’s the first major test of our character and there’s no bigger test than Man City away. There are positives for us that it’s not an ideal preparation for them.
“They had a massive game against Arsenal, emotionally and physically. But if it’s Under-21s players, if it’s fringe players, if it’s first-team players, they will technically be very good players.
“They will be unbelievably well-coached and it will be a big test whoever is playing.
“It’s an opportunity for us to cause an upset. It’s an opportunity for our lads to get minutes and stake a claim for the first 11. If you’re not at the races, or they are absolutely at their best, it’s a very hard team to contain.
“But we’ve got a clear gameplan of one, how to win the game, and two, to be very solid. It’s all about us executing and if we do that we’ll be competitive, I have no doubt about that.
“They are a world-class team, the best in the world for me. If they are in the right form then yes, they can hurt you, but let’s go there with no fear and execute our gameplan as well as we can.”
Watford could be a tough test for City
As a player, Cleverley played against City more times (20) than any other side he faced off against in his playing career.
After being appointed as Watford’s permanent manager back in April, the 35-year-old has overlooked eight games in total across the Championship and Carabao Cup.
Out of those eight games, Watford have won five, drawn one and lost two, scoring 17 goals and conceding nine along the way.
Bearing in mind how City played such an exhausting game on Sunday and have only had one day of rest as Cleverley mentioned, this could prove to be a tough test for the Blues.
