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Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United travel to Watford for the Premier League following the international break. With every game being tough for all teams as they resume club action, it’s not a great situation in the Premier League for Manchester United as they will be going into this game with a somewhat lopsided form.
They will start the weekend without five of their leading players (including captain Rooney), which won’t make it quite the expected “easy” task for the Red Devils against the Hornets. Watford are currently eleventh in the table after 12 games while the Red Devils occupy fourth place in the Premier League trailing Leicester City by one point and Arsenal and Manchester City by two.
Kickoff and Telecast
Date & Time: Saturday, 21 November 2015 – 12:45 (Saturday – 6:15 pm IST)
Venue: Vicarage Road
Live Stream: www.starsports.com
Telecast: Star Sports 1 and Star Sports HD 1
Team News
United’s Dutch manager Louis Van Gaal has a tough job on his hands with United suffering from a striker shortage for their weekend match against Watford. Wayne Rooney, Anthony Martial, Michael Carrick, Marouane Fellaini and Antonio Valencia will not be available for selection, but fans’ hopes will be relying on forwards Depay and Wilson.
In-form defenders Ashley Young and Chris Smalling will have added pressure on them, and the return of Matteo Darmian following his one-match suspension will be some welcome good news.
Although, James Wilson could lead the line, manager Van Gaal has said he will not play the full 90 minutes due to a lack of "match rhythm". This Premier League match will be a big test for the United manager considering the absence of five first-team players, giving the other lot a chance to shine at such crucial times.
Despite latest criticism of their playing style, United are unbeaten since losing to Arsenal early last month and have kept five successive clean sheets in all competitions.
Watford striker Odion Ighalo will face a late fitness test before their Spanish manager Quique Sanchez Flores selects his team for the fixture against Manchester United after returning to the club late following his international duty with Nigeria.
However some players remain unavailable for Watford as well. Sebastian Prodl, due to a calf injury, Tommie Hoban (groin and hip injuries), Joel Ekstrand (knee) and Rene Gilmartin (knee) find themselves unavailable for selection.
However, beyond those four, Quique Sanchez Flores has a fully-fit squad to choose from, although problems could come up for Allan Nyom, if he is to be punished by the Cameroon Football Association for missing their recent World Cup qualifiers.
Probable Lineups
Watford XI (4-2-3-1): Gomes; Nyom, Cathcart, Britos, Ake; Capoue, Watson; Anya, Deeney, Jurado; Ighalo
Manchester United XI (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Young, Jones, Smalling, Rojo; Schweinsteiger, Schneiderlin; Mata, Herrera, Lingard; Depay
Form
Watford come into this match in decent form. They lost their last game before the international break against Leicester 2-1, but in prior games, received full six points against West Ham and Stoke City. In their last eight games, they have won four and lost three – scoring nine goals and conceding eight.
Last 5 games: D-L-W-W-L (Last match: Leicester 2-1 Watford)
United come into this game with two wins out of the last five in all competitions – one of which was in the Premier League. They beat West Brom Albion and CSKA Moscow while drawing with Crystal Palace, Middlesbrough and Manchester City prior to that.
Last 5 games: D-D-D-W-W (Last match: Manchester United 2-0 West Brom Albion)
Key Stats
- Man Utd have won the last nine matches in all competitions against Watford.
- The Hornets have suffered just two defeats in their last nine league games at Vicarage Road, winning four and drawing three.
- United have the best chance conversion rate of any team in the league this season (20%).
Prediction
With the current form of Manchester United and with their injury-hit Saturday side, there is guarantees of United getting a result against the Hornets. Besides, Watford are not an easy team to beat or play at home, which was evident in their last home game against West Ham who they beat.
It’ll be an equal task for both to get those three points. However, the last time Watford won against Manchester United, it was in 1986, so history is against Watford.
Predicted score: Watford 1-1 Manchester United
Betting Odds (bet365)
Watford – 16/5
Draw – 23/10
Manchester United – 21/20
