Live Commentary: Watford 0-6 Manchester City - as it happened

Manchester City have climbed to the top of the Premier League table after an emphatic 6-0 win over Watford in Saturday's clash at Vicarage Road.

Sergio Aguero continued his brilliant record against the Hornets by scoring a hat-trick, with further strikes from Gabriel Jesus, Nicolas Otamendi and Raheem Sterling's penalty completing the rout.

City have now scored 15 goals in their last three games, having also thrashed Liverpool and Feyenoord over the last seven days, and have conceded none in that time.

Relive the action in Hertfordshire with our updates below.

4.52pmThat's all we have time for here at Vicarage Road but Sports Mole is on hand to bring you match reports, reaction and all the latest news from the weekend's football! Thank you for following and, until next time, goodbye!

4.50pmWell, what a performance that was. Watford have been completely blown away today at Vicarage Road as Manchester City put SIX past them, Sergio Aguero continuing his great form against the Hornets with a hat-trick.

90+3 minFULL TIME: WATFORD 0-6 MAN CITY

89 minSterling is given the nod by Guardiola to take the penalty over Aguero and a good call it was, the England winger rifling the ball with ferocity straight into the top corner as three minutes of added time are announced.

89 minGOAL! WATFORD 0-6 MAN CITY (RAHEEM STERLING, PENALTY)

88 minPENALTY! And now City have a great chance to make it six after Kabasele brings Sterling down in the area...

86 minCHANCE! Nearly a sixth for the visitors as Sterling gets into space, shifts the ball to his left foot and lets rip towards the far corner, but a slight deflection nudges the ball off course.

83 minThe answer is very much yes! His 10th hat-trick for Man City, his NINTH goal in his last five appearances against Watford - and what a finish that was, weaving through the hosts' defence and flicking the ball past Gomes from a tight angle!

82 minGOAL! WATFORD 0-5 MAN CITY (SERGIO AGUERO)

81 minAguero's second goal... will he get a hat-trick today?

78 minSUBSTITUTION: That's City's final change as David Silva's shift is over, with Sane taking his place.

75 minCHANCE! Okay, still plenty of sting left in this game by the looks of it! City launch another dangerous counterattack as Aguero bursts forward and plays the ball to Sterling, but the England man's low effort sails wide of the far post.

73 minCHANCE! Or maybe not... Watford so close to getting a goal back as a corner is swung in, flicked on, and Capoue is unmarked at the back post, but he completely fluffs his lines and nods over the bar!

72 minWatford win a free kick which Holebas delivers but Ederson is out to punch clear. The sting very much out of this game now.

69 minSUBSTITUTION: Two apiece in total now as Chalobah is replaced by Capoue for the hosts.

66 minSUBSTITUTIONS: City make two as Jesus and De Bruyne are replaced by Silva and Gundogan, while Watford bring on Pereyra for Cleverley.

64 minAnd that's four! Watford's fightback snuffed out by City's clinical, incisive attacking. The corner is taken short by Silva, claimed back, and a cross is whipped into the box, where Otamendi is on hand to nod home with a bullet header!

63 minGOAL! WATFORD 0-4 MAN CITY (NICOLAS OTAMENDI)

63 minCHANCE! Aguero holds up play and finds Silva with a back-heel, the ball is then fired towards goal but Gomes gets his fingers on it to tip the effort over.

61 minHowever, City aren't just impressing in conventional attacks - they're dangerous on the counter too, with Sterling and Silva combining to find Mendy, who drills a low ball into the box and causes havoc, with Watford only just getting the ball the right side of the post to only force a corner.

60 minThe clock passes the hour mark and although three goals down, Watford are giving a better account of themselves as they force another corner via Otamendi, with Holebas swinging the ball into the box and Richarlison rifling over.

57 minRicharlison goes to ground after taking a knock to the head from Walker amid a City counter-attack and referee Taylor stops play, but the Watford man is eventually fine to continue.

54 minPENALTY SHOUT! Watford win their first corner of the match which Holebas swings in, Chalobah tries to get something on it but goes to ground under pressure from a City defender, only for the ref to wave away the appeals!

52 minFernandinho is brought down by Cleverley on the edge of the City box, but the Watford man escapes a booking as the visitors win a corner which comes to nothing.

49 minCHANCE! Better from Watford as Holebas beats Walker out wide before whipping a cross to the far post, where Carrillo tries to fire the ball across goal but ends up drilling wide.

47 minAs it stands, Man City will be top of the Premier League table, with Manchester United, Chelsea and Newcastle United rounding out the top four.

46 minKICKOFF: Watford get the second half underway.

4.01pm

15 - Gabriel Jesus has been directly involved in 15 goals in his 15 Premier League appearances (11 goals, 4 assists). Brazilliant. pic.twitter.com/1BeC4nkXls

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) September 16, 2017

3.58pmAside from having just over a quarter of possession, Watford have mustered just two efforts, neither of which were on target, and didn't win any corners. Again, it's more a case of City being a class apart rather than the hosts' failings. Will City be deemed surefire title contenders now, following their displays in the last few games?

3.55pmThe stats are very much testament to City's dominance. Possession is split 29% to 71%, with the visitors weighing in with 14 shots, five of which were on target, and winning five corners.

3.52pmThe Hornets have not really got going yet, but with a side as rampant as City pinning them back from the off, it's hardly a massive criticism. However, with Sergio Aguero's opener arguably offside by a small margin and Gabriel Jesus's strike looking considerably more so, expect Marco Silva to mention this in the post-match presser.

3.48pmThat's the half-time whistle and Watford have been frankly outclassed by City, who lead by three goals to nil here at Vicarage Road.

45+2 minHALF TIME: WATFORD 0-3 MAN CITY

45 minWe have two minutes of added time.

43 minAguero's opening goal, very much a floodgate-opener at Vicarage Road...

40 minBOOKING: Watford have lost their composure as Doucoure hauls down Sterling to earn a booking for his troubles as well as gifting a free kick to the opposition, which De Bruyne fires just over.

39 minSurely that's now game over as City rattle in a third, Aguero sliding a pass through to Jesus, who rifles home into the bottom corner, but this is a controversial one as it looked very much offside - still stands though.

38 minGOAL! WATFORD 0-3 MAN CITY (GABRIEL JESUS)

36 minCHANCE! De Bruyne, who has pulled the strings for City this afternoon, tests Gomes after drifting past Chalobah and driving low on goal, but the Watford stopper is equal to it.

32 minLooks like the floodgates have indeed opened as the Hornets ship a second goal in quick succession as Aguero grabs his eighth goal in his last five appearances against Watford - the build-up sees Jesus play the ball to Silva, who then cuts across to the centre where the striker is on hand to tap home. Simple but effective.

31 minGOAL! WATFORD 0-2 MAN CITY (SERGIO AGUERO)

30 minBOOKING: Holebas goes into the book for kicking out at De Bruyne.

28 minWatford have done well to resist up until this point but City have managed to find a breakthrough and it comes through Aguero, who has been prolific against the Hornets in recent years - De Bruyne delivers another pinpoint cross and the Argentine nods home!

27 minGOAL! WATFORD 0-1 MAN CITY (SERGIO AGUERO)

25 minCHANCE! City nearly caught out at the back as Holebas whips in a free kick from deep and falls perfectly for Richarlison, who is able to get his head onto it, but the striker nods a yard wide!

23 minJanmaat takes a knock to the head from Otamendi after clearing under heavy pressure from the City defender and goes down, he goes off the pitch to receive treatment briefly while the visitors take their corner, which comes to nothing.

21 minCHANCE! City win another corner which is flicked into the path of Aguero, who reacts quickly to connect for a first-time volley but blasts wide of the near post.

19 minDe Bruyne reclaims possession from Chalobah and finds Aguero, who slides a pass through to Sterling, but Kabasele manages to weigh in and take just enough of the ball - great last-ditch tackle!

16 minCHANCE! Now here come the Citizens again as De Bruyne unlocks the Watford defence with a precise ball to Aguero, who tries to whip a cross towards Jesus but its trajectory is wayward and the ball almost drops into the far corner beyond Gomes, but ends up landing onto the roof of the net.

14 minCHANCE! But here come Watford as a long throw is not properly cleared by Walker and the ball falls to Doucoure on the edge of the box, but his drilled effort ricochets off Kabasele on its way wide of the City goal.

11 minVery much as I predicted earlier, with City completely dominating possession - currently stands at 72% to 28% - and powering forward, but Watford are shutting up shop and, so far, not letting anything pass.

9 minCHANCE! City are getting closer and closer as De Bruyne finds Sterling with a pinpoint cross but the England winger miskicks his effort from around 12 yards out before Fernandinho gathers and strikes a first-time effort, but Gomes is able to claim the ball.

8 minNow it's Mendy's turn to try his luck as he controls the ball on the edge of the Watford box following De Bruyne's cross and goes for the shot, but fires over. It's all City in these early stages.

6 minCity win a corner which De Bruyne takes towards Fernandinho, who stoops low to try and connect with the ball - he gets his head onto it but the effort sails well over the crossbar.

4 minDoucoure brings down Silva to gift City a free kick midway inside the Watford half which is played out to Walker on the right, he heads down the wing and whips a cross into the box but Doucoure clears.

1 minCity quick out of the starting blocks as Walker marauds forwards and finds Sterling, who cuts back towards Silva, but Watford force a corner, which is then cleared.

0 minKICKOFF! Anthony Taylor is today's referee, he blows his whistle and Aguero gets the game underway for the visitors!

2.57pmBoth sets of players have emerged from the tunnel, just the usual formalities to get out the way and then we'll be underway at Vicarage Road.

2.55pmSCORE PREDICTION: This will go one of two ways, in my opinion - either Watford will put up a great defensive performance and frustrate City on the way to another clean sheet, or the visitors will grab an early goal, the Hornets lose their shape, and it becomes a rout. And with Man City having clicked together perfectly, I reckon it'll be the latter. So I'm going to say 4-0 to City.

2.52pmSergio Aguero has scored six goals in four previous appearances against the Hornets in all competitions, while Gabriel Jesus has yet to taste defeat in a Premier League record 14 matches - both start today.

2.50pmCity, however, are unbeaten in 12 league games, their best run under Pep Guardiola.

2.48pmThe Hornets are unbeaten after four games of a top-flight season for the first time, and could keep four consecutive top-flight clean sheets for the first time with a shutout today.

2.46pmVictory against City would make Watford top-flight leaders for the first time since September 1982.

2.44pmMan City are also undefeated in 11 matches against the Hornets in all competitions since a 1-0 Division Two defeat at Vicarage Road in March 1989.

2.42pmA six-game unbeaten run against a single club is a Premier League record for Man City, whilst they are also unbeaten in six meetings with Sheffield United.

2.40pmHEAD TO HEAD: Watford have never beaten Manchester City in the Premier League, the record standing at four defeats and two draws for the Hornets.

2.38pmGuardiola, meanwhile, said: "[Saturday's game] is a big test for us. The big clubs win the games and that is the big difference to the big teams. In this situation, the teams I left at Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and the other big teams, like Madrid, and Juventus of Turin, in this kind of situation, a game every three days, they are there, they make a professional performance, score a goal in the right moment and win the game. That is the process we have to discover. When we are able to do that, then I will feel we have made a step forward to become a better team."

2.35pmSilva told reporters: "It's important at the moment that everyone, starting with myself, keeps their feet on the ground. What we have achieved now is only eight points and nothing special. We are happy, everyone is happy at the club and the fans are happy. It is a big fight and we know what our way is. The big expectation is always good and not a problem."

2.33pmWhat have Silva and Guardiola said about today's fixture in their pre-match pressers? Let's start with the Watford head coach.

2.31pmHammering Liverpool 5-0 is no mean feat, while their thrashing of Feyenoord in midweek was effortless. Will they blow Watford away too, or will they finally meet a defence that will keep them at bay? Just under half an hour until kickoff.

2.28pmFollowing last season's empty-handed finish, Guardiola appears to have moulded his team exactly how he wants it, and his possession-based game complete with marquee full-back acquisitions has seen them win three of their first four matches.

2.25pmMan City have have averaged over 65% possession in all five games in all competitions this season, and over 70% in all three away games so far, so this will be a serious test for Watford, who will need to absorb the pressure and play on the counter.

2.23pmGiven last season's 5-0 hammering for the Hornets on their own patch, some might think this would be one of those routine games for a side like Man City, but given that Watford are currently in fourth place with three clean sheets out of four, they should be difficult to break down.

2.21pmMan City captain Vincent Kompany is back in training but this match comes too soon for the defender, who is not in the matchday squad.

2.19pmPep Guardiola, meanwhile has made just one change from Man City's 4-0 win at Feyenoord in the Champions League, with Raheem Sterling back in the starting XI after serving his one-game domestic suspension - Bernardo Silva drops to the bench as a result.

2.17pmThe reshuffle has come about due to Silva having only three fit centre-backs to choose from, and Mariappa and Janmaat replace Younes Kaboul - out with a hamstring injury - and Kiko Femenia - rested after sustaining a head injury - while Sebastian Prodl and Craig Cathcart are also absent.

2.15pmMarco Silva has made two changes to his starting line-up from Watford's 2-0 win at Southampton, with Adrian Mariappa and Daryl Janmaat being recalled in defence.

2.13pmMAN CITY SUBS: Bravo, Danilo, Gundogan, Mangala, Delph, Sane, B Silva

2.12pmWATFORD SUBS: Karnezis, Deeney, Success, Wague, Zeegelaar, Capoue, Pereyra

2.11pmMAN CITY STARTING XI: Ederson, Walker, Stones, Otamendi, Mendy, De Bruyne, Fernandinho, D Silva, Sterling, Aguero, Jesus

2.10pmWATFORD STARTING XI: Gomes, Janmaat, Mariappa, Holebas, Kabasele, Carrillo, Doucoure, Chalobah, Cleverley, Gray, Richarlison

2.08pmWithout further ado, let me bring you the team news from Vicarage Road.

2.06pmAs an added incentive, Man City and Watford know that a win today will take them top of the Premier League for 24 hours at least.

2.04pmMan City won the last meeting between the two 5-0 at Vicarage Road on the final day of the 2016-17 campaign, but Marco Silva has overseen Watford's best unbeaten start to a top division season since 1951, so this could be an entirely different proposition for Pep Guardiola's boys.

2.02pmAlthough it's too early to pass judgement on the league's teams just yet, the two sides playing today at Vicarage Road have made a great start to the campaign, the fourth-placed Hornets welcoming the second-placed Citizens.

2.00pmHello and welcome to Sports Mole's live coverage of today's Premier League clash between Watford and Manchester City.