Manchester City vs Watford
FA Cup Final 2018-19
Venue: Wembley Stadium, London
Date: Saturday, May 18, 2019
Kick-off time: 5:00pm BST
Manchester City will attempt to wrap up an impressive domestic treble when they take on Watford in the FA Cup Final at Wembley on Saturday evening.
Pep Guardiola's side go into English football's showpiece fixture on an enormous high having successfully retained their Premier League title with a 4-1 win over Brighton on the final day that meant Liverpool were forced to accept second place at the end of a captivating title race.
The Catalan, whose team also kept hold of the League Cup with a penalty-shootout win over Chelsea in February, will now be eager to win world football's oldest knockout competition for the first time.
City are five-time winners of the FA Cup, but have not lifted the trophy since 2011, when they beat Stoke under Roberto Mancini. This year, they eliminated Rotherham, Burnley, Newport, Swansea and Brighton to reach the final once more.
Looking to stop City claiming a trio of major honours this term are a Watford side making their first FA Cup Final appearance since 1984, when they lost 2-0 to Everton.
The Hornets have enjoyed a mostly successful campaign under Javi Gracia, though ended the Premier League season with three straight defeats and heavy back-to-back losses against Chelsea and West Ham - the latter costing them a top-half finish.
Watford had not won at Wembley since 1999 before substitute Gerard Deulofeu inspired them to a memorable 3-2 comeback win over Wolves in the semi-final.
They previously bested non-league Woking, Newcastle, QPR and Crystal Palace.
Manchester City vs Watford team news and predicted line-ups
Manchester City
Key City midfielder Fernandinho has been sidelined since suffering a knee injury in the Manchester derby on April 24, but hopes to feature after training with strapping during the week.
Kevin De Bruyne is in contention after appearing as a late substitute at Brighton following a hamstring issue, while Claudio Bravo (Achilles) remains a long-term absentee.
Benjamin Mendy recently underwent further treatment in Barcelona as he continues to struggle with the after-effects of his latest knee injury.
Man City XI (4-3-3): Ederson; Walker, Kompany, Laporte, Zinchenko; De Bruyne, Fernandinho, Silva; Bernardo, Aguero, Sterling
Watford
Watford received good news on Monday as Jose Holebas saw his appeal against the red card received on the final day of the season against West Ham for a last-man foul on Michail Antonio upheld by the FA.
Player of the Season Etienne Capoue returned to the midfield on Sunday after recovering from a groin injury, with only Domingos Quina (shoulder) and Sebastian Prodl (knee) now still absent.
Semi-final hero Deulofeu is fit after a dead leg, while Tom Cleverley is in contention despite having only played 24 minutes of football since returning from a calf injury earlier this month.
Watford XI (4-3-2-1): Foster, Janmaat, Cathcart, Mariappa, Holebas; Doucoure, Capoue, Hughes; Femenia, Pereyra, Deeney
Match officials
Referee: Kevin Friend
Assistant Referees: Constantine Hatzidakis, Matthew Wilkes
Fourth official: Graham Scott
Video Assistant Referee (VAR): Andre Marriner
VAR Assistant: Harry Lennard
Prediction: Manchester City 2-0 Watford
Formidable Manchester City are on a scintillating run of 14 consecutive wins and will be brimming with confidence after becoming the first team since 2009 to retain the Premier League title.
They did the double over Watford in the league this season - winning 3-1 at home and 2-1 away - and it is very difficult to see how Watford can stop the sky blue juggernaut.
Head to Head history and results (h2h)
These two sides have contested 10 top-flight fixtures in the Premier League era, with City winning eight and drawing two.
Watford have won just one of six previous FA Cup ties against the Citizens - and that was all the way back in 1986.
They met in the competition in successive seasons in 2012-13 and 2013-14, with City winning 3-0 and 4-2 respectively.
