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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Nathan Bliss

Man City vs Watford simulated in FIFA 20 ahead of Premier League fixture

Fresh from their impressive win against Shakhtar Donestk in the Champions League on Wednesday, Manchester City host Watford in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon, hoping to bounce back from their defeat against Norwich last time out.

It's likely that Fernandinho will again deputise in central defence, due to John Stones' and Aymeric Laporte's ongoing injury issues.

For Watford, they are without both Craig Cathcart and their captain Troy Deeney, with Gerard Deulofeu looking set to play upfront with Andre Gray.

So, what line-up will Guardiola's go for against the Hornets? And, what will the final score be this weekend?

We used FIFA 20 to predict the outcome of this weekend's Premier League clash.

Man City vs Watford score predicted using FIFA 20

To set up this simulation, we used kick-off mode within FIFA 20 but didn't select a team to control; we then selected the teams and watched the match play out by itself, to give us a unique prediction.

The AI difficulty was set to world class, with the line-up updated with the latest transfers, injuries and suspensions.

We predict that Man City will set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Ederson; Walker, Otamendi, Fernandinho, Zinchenko; Rodri, D. Silva, De Bruyne, Sterling, Aguero, Mahrez.  

We predict that Watford will set up in a 4-4-2 formation, with their lineup as follows: Foster; Femenia, Dawson, Kabasele, Holebas; Hughes, Doucoure, Capoue, Pereyra; Deulofeu, Gray.

(EA SPORTS FIFA)

City were dominant from start to finish in this game, and they took just 11 minutes to open the scoring.

After he was fouled just outside the area, Kevin De Bruyne got up to take the free-kick and curled it beautifully into the corner, giving Foster no chance.

(EA SPORTS FIFA)

A magnificent effort.

The rest of the half saw bags of half chances fall to City players, with Aguero, Sterling and Silva all having efforts saved. No breakthrough emerged.

At the start of the second half City looked slightly subdued, which allowed Watford to pose a threat - especially from set pieces.

This prompted Guardiola into a change, with Mahrez hauled off and Bernardo Silva brought on in his place.

And the Portuguese maestro made an immediate impact.

A cross from Zinchenko from the left was floated into the far post towards Aguero, who cushioned the ball nicely towards Silva in the middle of the box, with the substitute guiding his first time effort into the back of the net.

(EA SPORTS FIFA)

Get all the latest FIFA, Football Manager and other gaming news here.

City did have chances to extend their lead, with De Bruyne and Aguero guilty of missing good opportunities.

But, that's how it finished, as City secured a dominant 2-0 win at the Etihad.

Full-time score: Man City 2-0 Watford

Here are the full-time match stats.

(EA SPORTS FIFA)

City were pretty dominant on the whole, but will be disappointed with their low number of shots.

De Bruyne was City's best player, scoring a wonderful free-kick and controlling the game.

(EA SPORTS FIFA)

Riyad Mahrez was just not at the races however, making no impact on the game.

This FIFA 20 simulation predicts that Watford will put in a good defensive performance and restrict City to fewer shots than they might expect, but Pep Guardiola's side will still come out on top thanks to moments of magic from De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva.

       
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