The quest for EFL Cup crown number nine begins on Tuesday for Manchester City, who host Watford in the third round at the Etihad Stadium.
The Citizens were formerly irrepressible in the competition under Pep Guardiola, winning the tournament four times in a row from 2018 to 2021, although they have failed to get past the quarter-finals in any of the last three editions.
The reigning Premier League champions will still come into the clash as firm favourites, but they will have had just over 48 hours' worth of rest from Sunday's engrossing 2-2 Premier League stalemate with title rivals Arsenal.
Meanwhile, Tom Cleverley's Watford have thrashed MK Dons 5-0 and seen off Plymouth Argyle 2-0 to make it this far, but they were thumped 4-1 by Norwich City in the weekend's Championship battle.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between the two sides.
© Imago
Head-to-head record
Previous meetings: 33
Man City wins: 22
Draws: 5
Watford wins: 6
The Hornets faithful could be forgiven for looking away now, as their side have experienced their fair share of obliterations against Man City in recent times, even if they have avoided defeat in 33.3% of their competitive games against them.
Indeed, Watford have been bested in 22 of their 33 historical meetings with the current Premier League champions, while picking up six wins of their own and playing out five draws, but it has been over 35 years since they last emerged victorious in this fixture.
Since a 1-0 Division Two win in March 1989, Watford have failed to beat Man City in their last 20 attempts, and each of the last 15 matches between the two clubs has seen the current English champions come up trumps, more often than not in ruthless fashion.
Prior to Watford's last relegation from the Premier League in the 2021-22 season, Man City did the double over the Hornets by an aggregate score of 8-2, easing to a 5-1 win at the Etihad after triumphing 3-1 at Vicarage Road earlier that season.
While City scored eight goals across two meetings with Watford that year, Guardiola's men only needed 90 minutes to conjure up an extraordinary octet of strikes in September 2019, annihilating Watford 8-0 at the Etihad a few months on from an equally chastening 6-0 beatdown in the 2018-19 FA Cup final.
Furthermore, every match in Man City's 15-game winning streak has seen the Citizens score at least two goals against Watford, who have not avoided defeat or conceding in this fixture since a pair of draws (0-0 away and 1-1 at home) in the 2006-07 Premier League season.
Only once before have these sides ever met in the EFL Cup, crossing paths in the fourth round of the 1987-88 edition, where Man City strolled to a 3-1 success. Earlier in the 20th century, Watford actually won five of their first seven clashes with the Sky Blues, but the dynamic has certainly shifted significantly now.
Among documented scorers in this head-to-head, Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling are joint-top with 11 each during their Man City days, while Gabriel Jesus (eight), Bernardo Silva (five) and former Watford star John Barnes (three) also make up the top five.
Last 20 meetings
Apr 23, 2022: Man City 5-1 Watford (Premier League)
Dec 04, 2021: Watford 1-3 Man City (Premier League)
Jul 21, 2020: Watford 0-4 Man City (Premier League)
Sep 21, 2019: Man City 8-0 Watford (Premier League)
May 18, 2019: Man City 6-0 Watford (FA Cup Final)
Mar 09, 2019: Man City 3-1 Watford (Premier League)
Dec 04, 2018: Watford 1-2 Man City (Premier League)
Jan 02, 2018: Man City 3-1 Watford (Premier League)
Sep 16, 2017: Watford 0-6 Man City (Premier League)
May 21, 2017: Watford 0-5 Man City (Premier League)
Dec 14, 2016: Man City 2-0 Watford (Premier League)
Jan 02, 2016: Watford 1-2 Man City (Premier League)
Aug 29, 2015: Man City 2-0 Watford (Premier League)
Jan 25, 2014: Man City 4-2 Watford (FA Cup Fourth Round)
Jan 05, 2013: Man City 3-0 Watford (FA Cup Third Round)
Apr 21, 2007: Watford 1-1 Man City (Premier League)
Dec 04, 2006: Man City 0-0 Watford (Premier League)
Jan 20, 2002: Watford 1-2 Man City (Division One)
Aug 11, 2001: Man City 3-0 Watford (Division One)
Feb 5, 1997: Man City 3-1 Watford (FA Cup Fourth Round)
Previous EFL Cup meetings
Nov 17, 1987: Man City 3-1 Watford (Fourth Round)
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Ben Knapton
