Manchester United out to kick up a Hornets nest at Watford
Published:
Lee Gormley | November 19, 2015
Watford v Manchester United
- Premier League
- Saturday, November 21st
- Kick-off: 12:45 GMT
- Vicarage Road, Watford
- Live on BT Sport 1
Watford welcome Man Utd to Vicarage Road
Manchester United make the trip to Vicarage Road for a Premier League clash with Watford for the first time since 2006, and Louis van Gaal’s men will look to pick up where former sides have left off by maintaining a nine-game winning streak in this fixture.
In fact, the Hornets have never managed to even pick up a single point against the Red Devils in the Premier League, with their last victory coming back in an old Division One encounter in 1986, with Man Utd dominating since.
Van Gaal’s visitors currently sit in fourth-place of the top-flight table, just two points adrift of current leaders and close rivals Manchester City, and they are 18/5 with Coral to win and both sides score in this first Hornets meeting for eight years.
Watford a threat
Watford lie further down the table in 13th position, after just two wins in their previous six domestic outings, though those victories were both impressive 2-0 results over solid outfits Stoke City and West Ham United.
With those encouraging triumphs in mind, they are 7/2 to spring a surprise on home soil, and will be hopeful as Man Utd’s form on the road has been indifferent, emerging with three points on just two occasions in their previous five away outings.
One United player that will know all about the threat Watford hold is Ashley Young, with the Old Trafford winger returning the stadium that he spent 10 years developing, before departing for a club-record fee to Aston Villa.
Young wary of testing return
Young has been met by an unwelcoming atmosphere on his return trips to Villa Park, but is hoping to receive a more respectful one at Vicarage Road, where he is 6/1 to score anytime against his former employers.
“It won’t be an easy match. A lot of people wrote them off at the start of the season but they’re a team that works hard and gets players on the ball, and they score goals,” stated the 30-year-old.
“They’ve been in good form recently but hopefully we can go there and get the three points.”
“It’ll be nice to go back..”
The United winger was part of the previous Watford side to grace the top tier and has many fond memories of his time there.
“I’m really looking forward to going back. It’s the club where I started and learnt my trade and, hopefully, it’ll be a nice reception… a better one than I get at Aston Villa anyway,” he continued.
“There will be quite a lot of my family going to the game, so it’ll be nice to go back.
“I started at Watford when I was 10 and left at 21, so I was there for a long time. It set me up and helped me get to where I am today and I thank everyone who was there at the time who I worked with.”
Martial and Rooney out
Anthony Martial has surprisingly been one of the Red Devils’ most impressive players this season, but the France international forward recently limped out of his nation’s emotional friendly with England, and he misses out as a result.
Three Lions skipper Wayne Rooney, who netted in that France meeting, and Michael Carrick are the only two current United players to have featured in that last Watford match-up back in 2007, though both will also be absent this time with respective knocks.
United may have to cast misfiring Memphis Depay in the striker’s role, and he is 11/2 to strike the game’s last goal, while Antonio Valencia, Paddy McNair, Luke Shaw and James Wilson are ruled out as well.
Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney will be key to Watford gaining a result on home turf, and they are 7/4 and 15/8 to strike anytime in the Premier League’s opening weekend clash following the international break.
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