Watford vs Manchester United

Out-of-sorts Manchester United will be desperate to return to winning ways when they take on newly-promoted Watford in a must-win Premier League game at Vicarage Road.

Watford’s decision to sever ties with the now ex-manager Xisco and bring in Claudio Ranieri as his successor in October has yet to pay dividends. The ‘Hornets’ have failed to score in three of their four Premier League matches under the Italian tactician’s stewardship (W1, L3). In fact, they have drawn a blank on more separate occasions (7) than any other Premier League side this term. Another disappointing weekend is well on the horizon, with Watford losing 14 of their 16 Premier League encounters against Man United (W2), including six of the last seven (W1). What’s more, Watford’s defensive frailties have seen them fail to keep a clean sheet in any of their previous 21 Premier League outings en route to setting the longest run without a shutout in their top-flight history.

In the meantime, a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester City on the stroke of the international window mounted more pressure on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Manchester United have racked up only four Premier League points out of the last 18 available (W1, D1, L4). That’s their lowest points tally across a six-game run in the competition since November/December 2015 under Louis van Gaal (3). With the pressure ramping up on Solskjaer, the ‘Red Devils’ will be looking to snap a frustrating three-game winless streak against newly-promoted sides (D3). Despite their form wobble, Man United have been fun to watch on the road lately, with each of their last three Premier League away fixtures featuring 3+ total goals (W2, L1).