Champions Manchester City have the chance to move four points clear at the top of the Premier League this evening as they welcome Watford to the Etihad Stadium.
The Citizens have an outright lead at the top of the table following Liverpool’s latest blip, and they can take further advantage today as they are in action a day before their title rivals.
A hard-fought win it may have been, but Man City ultimately got the job done away at Bournemouth last weekend to make it 16 victories in their last 17 matches in all competitions – coming at a time when some started to question their motivation levels.
City’s back-to-back losses against Crystal Palace and Leicester City either side of Christmas now seem a lifetime ago.
Since then they have been near-perfect, dropping points only to Newcastle United.
The pre-match hype surrounding the champions’ home meeting with title rivals Liverpool in early January was big, though that game seems even bigger now in hindsight.
City risked falling 10 points adrift of their opponents with defeat; instead, thanks to goals from Sergio Aguero and Leroy Sane, they reduced the margin to four points and they have since overtaken the Reds.
Now, for the first time in months, the Citizens’ title destiny is in their own hands. On the basis of their form over the past 10 weeks, combined with Liverpool’s failure to string successive wins together since mid-January, it is very much theirs to lose.
The fact that City are not firing on all cylinders in terms of their attacking play, on the basis of their last three results, may offer Liverpool some hope.
Yet Pep Guardiola’s men are ultimately showing a different side to their game, an ability to break down teams set out for a draw.
Last weekend’s 1-0 win at Bournemouth was a prime example of that.
The Cherries became the first side in Premier League history to fail to register a single shot – either on target or off – as they put every player behind the ball in the hope of snatching a goalless draw.
Riyad Mahrez’s strike 10 minutes into the second half proved the difference at the Vitality Stadium, meaning that City – already with one trophy in their cabinet this season – are well on course to completing an unprecedented quadruple.
With Schalke 04 and Swansea City to face in the Champions League and FA Cup respectively next week, this penultimate league outing in March provides Guardiola’s side with a test of a different kind.
The goals may have dried up, but victories now seem to be a formality and, rather ominously for Liverpool, there does not appear to be any way to stop the champions.
Meanwhile, a 5-0 thrashing against Liverpool in their most recent away outing is hardly the best way for Watford to set themselves up for this trip to the Etihad Stadium, though that heavy loss is one of just two defeats in their last 13 matches.
Watford have taken nine points from the last 12 on offer either side of that Liverpool setback, scoring eight goals and conceding two in wins over Everton, Cardiff City and Leicester City, as well as seeing off Queens Park Rangers in the FA Cup.
The Hornets have a winnable quarter-final tie with Crystal Palace on the horizon in the domestic cup, but Javi Gracia is not letting his players take their eye off the ball in the Premier League, as seen with their late 2-1 win over Leicester last time out.
Gracia is targeting a European spot, which could be the reward for the side that finishes seventh this season.
Wolverhampton Wanderers currently occupy that position, sitting ahead of the Hornets on goal difference alone.
Confidence may be high in the Watford camp, but they have lost all nine of their Premier League games against sides starting the day top, scoring eight goals and conceding 26.
They have also lost 10 of their 11 away league matches against the reigning top-flight champions, drawing the other in December 2015 against Chelsea.
With back-to-back league trips to Manchester – they face United at Old Trafford on their return to top-flight action on March 30 – on top of games against two more top-six opponents in Arsenal and Chelsea still to come, maintaining their grip on eighth place will be a big challenge in itself.
If lessons have been learned from the five-goal loss on Merseyside at the end of last month, though, Watford could pull off one of the biggest shocks of the campaign and provide the title race with another unexpected twist.
Man City possible XI: Ederson, Walker, Kompany, Otamendi, Zinchenko, Bernardo, Gundogan, D.Silva, Mahrez, Aguero, Sane.
Watford possible XI: Foster, Janmaat, Mariappa, Cathcart, Holebas, Pereyra, Doucoure, Capoue, Hughes, Deeney, Deulofeu.
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