Watford vs Manchester United
English Premier League.
Date: Sunday, 18 September, 2016,
Kick-off: 18:00 GMT+7
Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester.
English Premier League.
Date: Sunday, 18 September, 2016,
Kick-off: 18:00 GMT+7
Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester.
Manchester United face a tough away trip
to Watford in the Premier League this weekend. Jose Mourinho’s side a
beaten in their last two matches; 2-1 to Manchester City and 1-0 to
Feyenoord in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday evening. United had a
great start to the season, winning their first four competitive matches
in the FA Community Shield and the Premier League, coming unstuck in the
Manchester Derby and once again in the Netherlands, a year to the day
since Luke Shaw suffered a double fracture and United were beaten 2-1 by
PSV Eindhoven. United have a lot of work to do in order to get back on
track and to avoid a third defeat in a row. Bookies have already slashed
odd on Mourinho to be sacked this season, which is poor by the bookies
and will soon set the media off, just like they did against Louis van
Gaal last season. United have bought well this summer, but things are
not working perhaps as well as they should, which is a shame as on
paper, United have a squad capable of beating any team.
World record signing Paul Pogba is a
player being criticised by those fickle enough not to allow the player
some time to find his form for the team, and for the team to settle
after two years of frustration under Van Gaal. Mourinho has made many
changes, and it is all not going to snap into place overnight or in a
matter of months. United are a different team now, and for that reason,
time needs to be afforded. We have already seen the muppets call for the
manager to be sacked on Twitter, which seems to be the case when things
do not go their way; winning, which is something the glory supporting
element seem to want 100% of the time. Poor support of your team seems
to be one of the main elements in football today, which is just not good
enough. Too many football supporters are attracted by winning, not what
the club means to them, which, I guess, is just one of those things in
modern football.
Since the Southampton match at Old
Trafford where Paul Pogba made his second debut for the club, he has
played every minute of football in the Premier League and the Europa
League, which is no excuse for him, but he should be afforded more time
to hit the heights expected of him. I have seen many call him an
expensive flop, which is muppetry at it’s finest – the same people in a
few weeks when he has settled a bit more and found his feet, will
probably praise him, forgetting what they have said about the player.
Fickle is as fickle does, I guess. Mourinho is not worried about his
star player, though, speaking to the official Manchester United website,
saying:
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“You make a relation between what you pay and the club revenue, and realise that other clubs paying £20, £30, £40 million is a much bigger thing than what Manchester United did. I just want Paul to forget that and to play his football. [Having had] no pre-season, he had a very good impact in the first game and it’s normal that, after that, he has a little decrease. But I’m full of trust in him because I know the player he is; I know he’s a very good guy with a lot of ambition, so the form will come naturally. As the team improves, form improves.”
Mourinho also stated that he believed
that Pogba could play both positional and more free-ranging roles in his
squad this season, which would all depend on the opposition United
face, with three competitions in the club’s sights this month; Premier
League, UEFA Europa League and the EFL Cup. Mourinho said:
“It depends on the situation. In the Premier League, we are playing with Wayne Rooney as a no.10 and [against Feyenoord] we played [Ander] Herrera in front of the back four with [Morgan] Schneiderlin and gave Paul more freedom to occupy spaces. It’s not a problem with his position – he feels comfortable.”
Watford will be tough opposition for
United. Only last week they were 2-0 down away to West Ham United, they
won the match 4-2, which shows how devastating they can be o the attack,
but the Hammers are not the same side they were last season, they seem
to have lost their edge, which is probably down to the fact they are now
funded by the taxpayer, at least their stadium and the cost of policing
at their home matches will be, which in this day and age, with the
money on offer, is pretty selfish from West Ham. United have four
injuries at this moment in time, Phil Jones, no seriously, he’s injured,
is definitely out, as he would have been if fit. United seem to be
sweating on the fitness of Luke Shaw, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Eric
Bailly, who received a knock against Feyenoord. Watford have three
doubts; Sebastian Prödl, Stefano Okaka and Younès Kaboul.
Watford: Team News
Stefano Okaka will be missing for the home team as he is injured, every other player is fit and available for selection.
Manchester United: Team News
Wayne Rooney and Luke shaw is expected back into the squad, while Phil Jone and Mkhitaryan are injured and out of the game.
Watford vs Manchester United: Head to Head Statistics
Manchester United have dominated Watford in their Previous games,
they have 13 of their 19 games against Watford. Manchester United have
lost only 2 games against Watford, also United have won 6 times at
Vicarage road. Currently, United are unbeaten in their last 9 games
against Watford irrespective of the playing ground.
Watford vs Manchester United: Prediction
Despite their recent defeats, Manchester United are still huge
favourites in this game. I expect a win from the Red devils, also i
expect a goal from Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Watford vs Manchester United: Bet Tips
Manchester United win and over 2.5 goals at 13/5 (3.60)
Zlatan to score at any time at 1/1 (2.00).
Zlatan to score at any time at 1/1 (2.00).