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Manchester United welcome their next opponents, relegation threatened Watford at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon. After winning a confidence-boosting game at Stamford bridge against old foes Chelsea 2-0. Solskjaer and his team should look to deliver another much-needed win in order to try and make up ground on both Chelsea and Spurs who play against each other the day before. A win against Watford would allow the Red Devils to pile pressure on their top four competitors. Manchester United have an impressive record against Watford and have won 5 of their last matches against Watford at home. However, it must be remembered that Watford managed to win the reverse fixture earlier this season and shocked the Red Devils with a clinical 2-0 result.
Watford were held to a 1-1 draw on the road in their previous league encounter against Brighton and are fighting for survival in the Premier League. It was their fifth game without a win and they are currently placed 19th in the table, with a total of just 24 points. Manchester United have won all six of their Premier League games against Watford at Old Trafford, scoring 14 goals and conceding just two.
- Manchester United have never lost a league game at home to Watford (W10 D2) with the last time they dropped points coming in 1985
- Nigel Pearson had a 6 game unbeaten run when he came in but has now lost the two out of three matches
- The last time Manchester United kept three league clean sheets in a row was a year on Monday when beating Leicester and Fulham away from home and a goalless draw at Old Trafford against Liverpool.
- Since Watford have been last promoted in 2015, Manchester United are yet to concede at home having won all four matches at Old Trafford without reply, scoring a total of six goals
Team News
Mason Greenwood may not have recovered from the illness which forced him to miss Thursday’s draw with Club Brugge, meaning there could be a full debut for Odion Ighalo against his former club. Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford remain side-lined. Some good news for the Red Devils is that their may be a possibility that Scott McTominay may be ready to return to boost the strength of the Red Devils midfield. The midfield area has been the Red Devils Achilles heel this season and with the possibility of having a few more options will definitely help Solskjaer selecting his best available squad. Watford defender Kiko Femenia may return after missing the last seven games, while there is an outside chance Ismaila Sarr, who was forced off against Tottenham last month and has not played since, could also feature.
Martial may be the key attacking force having netted 14 goals in the season thus far and looking to add to his tally. As always the formation and selection is key for this fixture my predicted starting XI;
De Gea, Wan-Bissaka, Maguire, Lindelof, Shaw, Williams, Fred, Fernandes, James, Martial, Ighalo
Predicted Score: Manchester United win 2-0
