New recruit Danilo, who earned a recall to Brazil’s national team yesterday, has previewed the encounter at Vicarage Road, asserting he is impressed – but not surprised – with the Hornets’ start to the season.
“It wasn’t a surprise for me because I’m used to watching the Premier League and I’m aware how the teams considered small prepare their games and face their matches,” he declared.
“The support they receive from the fans to keep a high level is important too.
“Watford are a good example of that. They are with us at the top of the table among the best teams.
“Usually, people think games against the top six teams are more important but for us, every game is important because we are aware of the difficulty of every match.
“We are trying to build a strong group – no matter what the results are. The good results help a lot but we can’t lose focus of the real goal: to win every competition we take part in.
“The results have been good so far – people are satisfied – but we are pursuing bigger things and we must keep being focused and keep our feet on the ground.
“The Club is amazing – the structure, the work ethic, the fans… it feels great to be here and I’m very excited about this season.”
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, admiration for his Hornets counterpart Marco Silva.
Also addressing the media, the Watford boss told press he expects an entertaining game but insisted his side will not prepare any differently.
“It’s one more game against a great, great team,” he stated.
“If somebody looks at this as a big test then they are looking at it the wrong way. We start very well but we need to know what is our goal.
“We do everything to take points against City. It’s important we don’t lose focus on what we need to do.
“It’s difficult in the Premier League to achieve three clean sheets in a row.
“We achieved something that is very important to us. But we are playing against a team who has scored nine goals and they have a lot of solutions.
“They have very good players in the back-line, two very good holding midfield players and then players who are creating lots of chances for the forwards to score. We will try and do our best to take the points.
“We have our idea and we need to keep the focus on the key players of the opponent but making sure we don’t change our idea.
“Our team will suffer a bit and play more at the back than we want, but this is football. We need to respect the opponent and pay attention to their key players.
“It’s a big game for us. It’s a big challenge for us as a club and nothing changes in our way. We work in the same way, like we prepared for the first match.”
Elsewhere, the Manchester Evening News have examined potential starting line-ups and formations, with James Robson, Simon Bajkowski and Charlotte Duncker casting their predictions.
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Finally, there’s more praise for Transfer Tavern analyse the potential influence the Portuguese star could have.
Writes Lee Connor: “A midweek demolition job of Dutch club Feyenoord was another statement of intent from City, and it’s got our City fans here in the Transfer Tavern getting pretty excited about what the rest of the season could have in store.
“The classy looking creative midfielder has thus far been used sporadically by Guardiola, but made a start in the Champions League this week over in Holland.
“In an impressive performance by City, Silva showed his worth with some excellent touches in and around the final third, appearing at ease with the role he was given in the starting line-up and helping David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne control proceedings.
“It was a good thing to see for City fans who must have been wondering what they had bought. However, Silva demonstrated enough on Wednesday night to suggest he will become a crucial player throughout the course of the season as Guardiola seeks success at home and abroad.”
