The signs for the possible winner of the three points at Vicarage Road on Tuesday evening could not have been much clearer. Manchester City were the favourites before the kick-off to continue their unbeaten run in this Premier League season and they did so. Though, The Hornets managed to score in the 85th minute and retain the possibility of winning a point on their home ground until the very last minute.
Line ups
Watford (4-3-2-1): Foster – Holebas, Cathcart, Kabasele, Femenía Doucouré, Chalobah, Hughes – Pereyra, Success – Deeney
Manchester City (4-3-3): Ederson – Delph, Kompany, Stones, Walker – D.Silva, Fernandinho, B.Silva – Sané, Jesus, Mahrez
City’s build up structure
At the beginning of the match, City tried to build up with a back-three consisting of Kompany, Stones and Walker while Delph pushed into midfield (P1). The reason for a back-three in build up phases was probably Guardiola’s expectation of Watford defending in a 4-4-2, like they did in their previous matches. A back-three would provide a majority with the lowest number of players needed (3 vs 2).
Contrary to his assumption, Watford used three players up front which made City switch to a back-four very early (P2). The organisation of City’s midfield and forward line was clear.
Fernandinho supported Kompany and Stones to build up from the back, Bernardo and David Silva usually pushed high up the halfspaces to create space for Fernandinho and Delph at the beginning. In order to stretch the opponent’s back-four as much as possible, Sané and Mahrez stayed very wide.
Subscribe To TFA To Unlock All Posts - Free 7 Day Trial
Try TFA Free For 7 Days
Gain access to all of TFA's premium contents.More than 12,000+ articles.
