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Man City vs Watford LIVE! Carabao Cup match stream, latest score and goal updates today

Man City today begin their quest to recapture the Carabao Cup when they host Championship outfit Watford at the Etihad Stadium. Pep Guardiola has made a habit of winning this competition during his time in English football but has not lifted this particular piece of silverware since 2021.

After two gruelling games against Inter Milan and Arsenal, Guardiola will be looking to rotate. Whatever team he sends out will undoubtedly be favourites but it promises to be an occasion upon which a few of the younger players in his squad can impress. With Rodri reportedly facing a lengthy time out of action, perhaps an understudy will emerge this evening.

Tom Cleverley’s Hornets side are just outside the play-offs in the second tier as things stand but arrive in Manchester having just lost 4-1 to Norwich. Follow all the action with Standard Sport’s dedicated LIVE match blog!

Man City vs Watford latest news

Kick-off time and venue: 7.45pm BST; Etihad Stadium
TV channel and live stream: Sky Sports
Confirmed Man City team
Confirmed Watford team
Prediction: Man City to win

GOAL! Man City 1-0 Watford | Nunes '37

20:24

37 mins: Lewis and Nunes play a neat one-two for City on the edge of the box, before Nunes fires home a great effort.

Man City 1-0 Watford

20:19 , Jamie Dickenson

33 mins: Grealish and Foden stand over the free-kick, but Foden’s effort is tame.

Watford counter on the break but the chance comes to nothing.

Man City 1-0 Watford

20:15 , Jamie Dickenson

29 mins: Nunes chips a ball into the box and it falls to Doku, but his effort is blocked.

The Belgian has probably been City’s best player in the first 30 minutes here.

Man City 1-0 Watford

20:14

27 mins: Phil Foden whips a wicked ball in that causes a collision between goalkeeper and defender in the Watford ranks.

It’s almost like a defence versus attack training game this.

Man City 1-0 Watford

20:11 , Jamie Dickenson

25 mins: City have had over 75% of possession, but as you’d expect with a much-changed team they haven’t hit their stride just yet.

Jack Grealish goes on a mazy run into the box but doesn’t release it in time.

Man City 1-0 Watford

20:09 , Jamie Dickenson

23 mins: Who remembers Angelo Ogbonna? The Italy defender is making his debut for Watford here after leaving West Ham in the summer.

Man City 1-0 Watford

20:07 , Jamie Dickenson

21 mins: DISALLOWED GOAL! Baah has the ball in the net for Watford, but his effort is chalked off for a foul on Braithwaite.

No goal for the Hornets but a positive foray forward for the visitors.

Man City 1-0 Watford

20:04 , Jamie Dickenson

18 mins: City are playing really high up the pitch, with Watford camped out on the edge of their box already.

It’s a great evening for City’s young players - Braithwaite, O’Reilly and McAtee - to make an impression.

Man City 1-0 Watford

20:02 , Jamie Dickenson

16 mins: Jeremy Doku’s goal is his first of the season.

He managed six in all competitions last term following his move from Rennes.

City are pressing for a second now, with Phil Foden growing into the game.

Man City 1-0 Watford

19:58

12 mins: Matheus Nunes hits one from range, but it isn’t dangerous enough to trouble the Watford keeper.

This is a good chance for Nunes to impress his manager Pep Guardiola and get more game time for Manchester City.

Man City 1-0 Watford

19:55 , Jamie Dickenson

9 mins: Doku is looking lively here, the winger whips in an enticing cross but there is no one there.

That is the one issue City have when they don’t play Erling Haaland - with Julian Alvarez now at Atletico Madrid they don’t have another proper striker.

Man City 1-0 Watford

19:53 , Jamie Dickenson

8 mins: Watford have their first foray forward but Tom Ince’s free-kick comes to nothing.

Tom Cleverley will be furious his side have conceded so cheaply here.

GOAL! Man City 1-0 Watford | Doku '5

19:51 , Jamie Dickenson

5 mins: Watford inexplicably lose the ball in their own box, with James McAtee playing it to Jack Grealish who finds Jeremy Doku.

Doku gets himself set and rolls the ball into the corner. That was too easy.

Man City 0-0 Watford

19:48 , Jamie Dickenson

3 mins: If the first few minutes are anything to go by it could be a long night for Watford.

Manchester City are dominating the ball in their opponent’s half.

KICK-OFF

19:46

Watford get us underway here at the Eithad, with Jack Grealish making an early run down the left.

James McAtee couldn’t react quick enough.

Kick-off coming

19:40 , Jamie Dickenson

We are just five minutes away from kick-off now...

City slickers

19:33 , Jamie Dickenson

Pep Guardiola has started five England internationals for Manchester City this evening.

So much for a second team then...

Cleverley does it

19:21 , Jamie Dickenson

Tom Cleverley has told his Watford side to move on after their 4-1 defeat to Norwich on Saturday.

"You don’t dwell on that result,” he said. “And it’s not been an ideal preparation for them [Manchester City], and I think they’ll have to make 11 changes.

"I would assume they will change their entire team, it’s just not physically possible to play a big game against Inter last week, big game against Arsenal, huge game against Newcastle this coming weekend, and to ask their players to go again 48 hours after Sunday.

"Whoever they put out, it’ll be a big test for us."

Boys in blue

19:15 , Jamie Dickenson

Kyle Walker and Jeremy Doku are the only players who start tonight that were part of the side that kicked off against Arsenal just two days ago.

Jack Grealish will be hoping to press his case for more game time this evening.

Haaland back in Norway

19:11 , Jamie Dickenson

Erling Haaland is not in the Manchester City squad tonight as he returns to Norway for the funeral of a family friend.

Ivar Eggja - the best man at Alf-Inge Haaland’s wedding and considered an uncle by Erling - passed away at the age of 59 earlier this month.

Haaland was offered compassionate leave by the club ahead of the Brentford game, but decided to play and scored twice in a 2-1 win.

The 24-year-old flew back to his homeland yesterday, with the funeral set to take place this week.

Haaland is expected to return for the trip to Newcastle on Saturday.

Watford confirmed starting XI

19:01 , Jamie Dickenson

Watford XI: Bond, Porteous, Ogbonna, Morris, Ebosele, Larouci, Ince, Louza, Sema, Bayo, Baah.

Subs: Marriott, Pollock, Chakvetadze, Vata, Dwomoh, Tikvic, Doumbia, Dele-Bashiru, Adu-Poku.

McAtee's first Etihad start

19:00 , Jamie Dickenson

James McAtee starts at the Etihad for the first time as a Manchester City player.

He did start the Community Shield game against Manchester United won on penalties last month, having spent the last two seasons on loan at Sheffield United.

Man City confirmed starting XI

18:51 , Jamie Dickenson

Man City XI: Ortega Moreno; Walker (c), Stones, Braithwaite, Lewis; O’Reilly, Nunes, McAtee; Doku, Grealish, Foden.

Subs: Ederson, Dias, Kovacic, Gundogan, Bernardo, Gvardiol, Akanji, Savinho, Wright.

Branthwaite set to start

18:45 , Jamie Dickenson

Kaden Branthwaite is expected to be given his first Manchester City start tonight.

At 16 years and 183 days old the centre-back will become City’s third-youngest player ever and their youngest in the Premier League era.

Branthwaite is a highly-rated academy product who is being given his debut after impressing Pep Guardiola in training.

Word on Watford

18:39 , Jamie Dickenson

Watford are currently eighth in the Championship as Tom Cleverley’s side travel to the Etihad.

The Hornets had a great start to the season - winning their first five matches - but they now haven’t won in three games.

Watford overcame MK Dons 5-0 and Plymouth 2-0 to set up this tie with City.

Nunes and McAtee to start

18:30 , Jamie Dickenson

Matheus Nunes and James McAtee are expected to be given their first starts of the season tonight against Watford.

The pair could be in line for more minutes with midfielder Rodri potentially out for the remainder of the season.

Man City paid Wolves £53million to sign Nunes last summer while McAtee has come through the academy.

Nunes has been used four times off the bench so far this term while McAtee’s only substantial contribution came as a starter in the Community Shield win over Man United.

Etihad ready

18:20

The Etihad is ready to welcome Watford as the opponents for Manchester City in this Carabao Cup third-round tie.

Kick-off is a little more than an hour away now...

Ian Wright slams 'coward' Haaland

18:13

He will probably be rested tonight, but Erling Haaland may still be smarting after being called a “coward” by Ian Wright.

Wright slammed Haaland for throwing the ball at the head of Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes as Man City wildly celebrated their late equaliser in Sunday’s 2-2 Premier League draw.

Haaland ran into the net to collect the ball while celebrating when John Stones before throwing it at the back of Gabriel’s head.

Read the full story here!

Man City vs Watford match odds

17:55 , Jamie Dickenson

Man City to win: 1/8

Watford to win: 17/1

Draw: 8/1

Odds via Betfair (subject to change).

Head to head (h2h) history and results

17:52

Man City and Watford last met in a Premier League match at the Etihad in May 2022, when four goals from Gabriel Jesus helped them to a 5-1 victory.

Man City wins: 22

Draws: 5

Watford wins: 6

Carabao Cup draw

17:35 , Jamie Dickenson

The Carabao Cup third round is in full flow, with three Premier League sides already falling to early exits.

Fulham and Everton have already crashed out while Man United and Tottenham are among the teams to have booked their place in the fourth round.

The remainder of the third round is played out this week.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Carabao Cup draw for the fourth round.

Rodri sidelined

17:31 , Jamie Dickenson

Rodri has flown to Barcelona for medical tests on the serious knee injury he suffered against Arsenal on Sunday, with the Manchester City midfielder expected to miss the rest of the season.

The Spain international jarred his leg in an off-the-ball incident that occurred early on in the dramatic 2-2 draw between the Premier League title rivals at the Etihad Stadium and hobbled off after 21 minutes, replaced by Mateo Kovacic.

On Monday afternoon, Rodri arrived in Barcelona for a specialist assessment on what initial tests indicated was an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

Read the full story here!

Man City vs Watford prediction

17:26 , Jamie Dickenson

Man City should make light work of the Hornets, even with rotation in mind.

Phil Foden’s season has yet to really get going yet and he could shine in this home tie against Championship opposition.

Man City to win, 4-1.

Watford team news

17:23

Daniel Bachmann and Francisco Sierralta were both forced off for Watford against Norwich last time out, with Jonathan Bond and Ryan Porteous first in line to come into the side.

Daniel Jebbison is cup-tied after featuring for Bournemouth earlier in the competition, while Ryan Andrews is also sidelined.

Man City team news

17:19 , Jamie Dickenson

Manchester City are expected to make plenty of changes for tonight’s Carabao Cup clash with Watford.

Pep Guardiola’s side snatched a dramatic 2-2 draw at home against Arsenal on Sunday after a titanic tussle between the Premier League title rivals.

The fact that such a draining game followed hot on the heels of a 0-0 draw with Inter Milan in the Champions League surely means that Guardiola will tinker against the Hornets.

City will be without influential midfielder Rodri as they nervously await an update on the knee problem that forced him off against the Gunners, with reports that he could miss the rest of the season with an ACL injury. Rodri is believed to have travelled to Spain to undergo further scans.

Captain Kevin De Bruyne missed Sunday’s feisty draw with Arsenal and though his injury is not thought to be serious, he is unlikely to be risked here.

Versatile defender Nathan Ake is not expected back from injury until after the October international break, while Oscar Bobb is facing slightly longer out of action after surgery on a leg fracture.

Predicted Man City XI: Ortega, Lewis, Stones, Akanji, Wilson-Esbrand, Nunes, Wright, O’Reilly, McAtee, Foden, Grealish.