After starting each of the last four matches across all competitions for Manchester City, Raheem Sterling will be hoping that he is selected once again in Pep Guardiola's first XI when they face Watford at Vicarage Road on Saturday evening.
With the likes of Phil Foden and Jack Grealish sitting on the sidelines with injuries in recent weeks, the 26-year-old has taken his chance in the first team, scoring two goals and registering one assist in his last four appearances.
Sterling is yet to find the net away from home this season so he will be keen to get his name on the scoresheet against the Hornets, who he has enjoyed plenty of success against in recent years.
Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at the England international's record against Watford.
Sterling has faced Watford eight times in his professional career across all competitions, all of which for Man City, and he boasts an impressive 100% winning record against them.
What is even more eye-catching is that the forward has been directly involved in 12 goals against the Hornets (10 goals and two assists); only against Bournemouth (11) has he found the net on more occasions against a single opponent.
Following his big-money move from Liverpool in the summer of 2015, Sterling scored his first-ever goal at the Etihad Stadium in his first-ever encounter against Watford, netting the opener in a 2-0 victory for Manuel Pellegrini's side in August that year.
Sterling then failed to contribute with either a goal or an assist in the 2-1 win at Vicarage Road six months later, which proved to be the only fixture against the Hertfordshire outfit which the Englishman failed to register an attacking return.
The following campaign, Sterling laid the ball on a plate for David Silva to score City's second in a 2-0 win on home soil, before being an unused substitute for the reverse fixture.
Since 2017, Sterling has found the net in each of his five appearances against Watford, scoring nine goals in the process.
The forward got his name on the scoresheet in both encounters against the Hornets in the 2017-18 campaign, with the Citizens winning both games by an aggregate score of 9-1.
Sterling's most memorable appearances against Watford came in 2018-19, the same season that City went on to win a historic domestic quadruple. In March 2019, the England international bagged a second-half hat-trick in a 3-1 Premier League victory at the Etihad, before scoring twice and providing one assist in the remarkable 6-0 FA Cup final triumph at Wembley Stadium two months later.
With Watford playing in the Championship last season, Sterling's most recent appearance against the Hornets was in July 2020, when he scored the opening two goals in a comfortable 4-0 win at Vicarage Road, yet another impressive performance against the Hertfordshire outfit which he will be keen to replicate on Saturday. body check tags ::
