Watford vs Manchester United: Short Match Preview
A tough test awaits for Louis Van Gaal and his men as Manchester United get ready to take on newly promoted Watford at the Vicarage Stadium today. Captain Wayne Rooney, Anthony Martial, Michael Carrick, Antonio Valencia and Marouane Fellaini are all unavailable to start while the Dutch manager has also said that James Wilson isn’t fit to play the full 90 minutes. This puts United in a real problem, as although their style of play has been criticised yet they haven’t lost since that humiliating 3-0 loss at Arsenal on 4th October, and have kept clean sheets in five successive games in all competitions, and are currently only 2 points off league leaders Manchester City being placed at 4th position.
TEAM NEWS
Watford’s leading scorer Odion Ighalo faces a late fitness test after returning late from international duty with Nigeria while Sebastian Prodl (calf), Tommie Hoban (groin and hip injuries), Joel Ekstrand (knee) and Rene Gilmartin (knee) are unavailable.Beyond those, Quique Sanchez Flores has a fully-fit squad from which to choose, although problems could yet surface for Allan Nyom, should he be punished by the Cameroon Football Association for missing their recent World Cup qualifiers. Manager Flores says midfielder Etienne Capoue has been affected by the attacks in Paris, so he might be a doubt too.
Van Gaal will have to rely on his bench as well, because Rooney(ill), Martial(foot), Fellaini, Valencia and Carrick (ankle) will a miss the game, and Wilson doesn’t have “enough match rhythm” to play a full game.
STAT ATTACK
* United have the best defence in the league, with just 8 goals conceded in 12 games.
* Watford also have the best defence in the league outside the top 5, and are the best placed among the 3 promoted teams.
* Man Utd have won the last nine matches in all competitions againstWatford, with the Hornets’ last win coming back in September 1986 (1-0 at home in the league).
* United have the best chance conversion rate of any team in the league this season (20%).
PREDICTION
Matches right after the international break are always very tough and we think United are going to find it very hard to play a free-flowing game, so we predict a 1-1 draw.
