Pravir Singh
Watford vs Manchester United Preview
Two points off the top. 8 clean sheets. Least amount of goals conceded. Manchester United have performed reasonably well this season. The philosophy that Louis Van Gaal is trying to instil into his players is slowly being shown on the field. However, he is constantly being criticized by various former players for not showing enough attacking intent. It’s not just the legends; the fans have been left frustrated as well leading to chants of “Attack Attack Attack!” every game. This is not new for Louis Van Gaal however; stats show that his teams score fewer goals wherever he’s gone. His teams might score fewer goals, but it hasn’t come in the way of him winning major trophies with these clubs.
United went into the International break with two consecutive victories and they’ll be looking to continue that form against Watford on Saturday. The International Break was not kind to United as they now have a total of 5 players out. In addition to Luke Shaw and Antonio Valencia, Michael Carrick, Anthony Martial, Wayne Rooney and Marouane Fellaini join the list. While Fellaini failed to recover from an injury he sustained prior to the International Break, Martial and Carrick suffered while playing for their countries. LVG said that Martial and the ill Wayne Rooney should return for the Champions League tie versus PSV. This poses a major problem for United now. James Wilson is an option for Van Gaal, who has gone down the pecking order this season. However, he too will not be able to complete the 90 full minutes according to LVG and a big decision has to be made about who will play up front.
Wilson is a natural replacement for Martial and LVG wouldn’t have to change his system if he plays the young Englishman. If he gets the nod, it’ll be a massive opportunity for the striker. Another possibility could be Memphis Depay. He’s had a horrible season so far and not only has been spending time on the United bench recently, he was dropped from the national squad as well. Although Memphis has placed on the left during the course of the season, he was played in that number 10 position on the pre-season tour. It could be the opportunity he’s waiting for to win his place back and finally announce himself to the English Premier League. LVG has shown faith in youth so Ashley Fletcher and Marcus Rashford could be in with a chance for a place on the bench at least.
Recent form (all competitions):
Manchester United: DDDDWW
Watford: LDLWWL
Predicted Lineup
Watford possible starting lineup: Gomes, Nyom, Cathcart, Britos, Ake, Anya, Capoue, Watson, Abdi, Deeney, Ighalo
Man Utd possible starting lineup: De Gea, Young, Smalling, Blind, Rojo, Schneiderlin, Schweinsteiger, Mata, Herrera, Lingard, James Wilson
Prediction
Although Watford are among the lowest scoring teams in the league, Odion Ighalo has impressed for the Hornets, netting 7 of their 11 goals.
Although the striker crisis might pose a problem, United should come away with 3 points.
