Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be desperate to return to winning ways against Watford this weekend.
The Red Devils failed to impress across all competitions heading into the international break, with just one win in seven, leading to questions about Solskjaer’s future.
But Watford could prove the perfect fixture for United to return to form having suffered three defeats in four since Claudio Ranieri took charge.
The Premier League contest is set to take place on Saturday, November 20
It will take place at Vicarage Road with a kick-off time of 3pm.
Watford have never lost to a team in the Premier League more than United, tasting defeat in 12 out of their 14 top-flight games.
Watford v Manchester United: Team news
The hosts are set to be without Ozan Tufan this weekend after he suffered a knee injury on international duty with Turkey.
Juraj Kucka is unavailable following his red card in the 1-0 defeat to Arsenal while Peter Etebo is a long-term absentee.
Manchester United: Paul Pogba would have missed this game anyway to serve the last of the three match ban he picked up in the 5-0 loss to Liverpool.
However the Frenchman is now set for a longer spell on the side lines after sustaining a thigh injury on international duty.
Pogba’s compatriot Raphael Varane is also expected to be absent due to a hamstring issue while doubts remain on a number of other players.
Luke Shaw and Scott McTominay were both forced to withdraw from England and Scotland duty respectively due to concussion concerns and illness.
Edinson Cavani and Marcus Rashford missed out on joining their national squads and Solskjaer is expected to give an update on their availability this week.
Read Also: Leicester City v Chelsea: Match Facts & Team News
Watford v Manchester United: Match facts
- Watford have lost 12 of their 14 Premier League matches against Manchester United (W2) – against no side have they lost more.
- In the top-flight, Manchester United have won 18 of their 26 matches against Watford (D4 L4), a win ratio of 69%. Among teams they’ve faced at least 20 times in their top-flight history, they only have a higher win ratio against Luton Town (73% – P30 W22).
- No team has failed to score in more different Premier League matches than Watford this season (7). In the four games in which the Hornets have managed to find the net however, they’ve netted at least three goals on three occasions.
- Manchester United are winless in three Premier League matches against newly promoted teams, drawing against West Brom, Leeds and Fulham last season. They haven’t gone four in a row without a win against such opposition since a run ending in September 1997 that saw them fail to beat Sunderland, Derby, Leicester and Bolton.
- Watford have conceded at least once in each of their last 21 Premier League games – it’s their longest ever run without a clean sheet in the top-flight.
- Manchester United have lost four of their last six league games (W1 D1), as many as they had in their previous 40 in the competition (W24 D12). Four points is Manchester United’s fewest over a six-game spell in the Premier League since November/December 2015 under Louis van Gaal (3).
- Watford have conceded a league-high 154 fouls in the Premier League this season, at least 26 more than any other side. Meanwhile, the two worst offenders for fouls conceded among players in the competition this term are Watford’s Emmanuel Dennis (26) and Juraj Kucka (25).
- Watford manager Claudio Ranieri’s first ever Premier League game in charge was against Manchester United, a 3-3 draw at Old Trafford with Chelsea in September 2000.
- Ranieri has lost his last four league games against the Red Devils, having lost just two of his first 10 against them (W2 D6).
- Man Utd’s Bruno Fernandes has created more chances than any other player in the Premier League this season (37). Indeed, since his debut in the competition the Portuguese leads the way for both chances created (162) and assists (22), while only Mohamed Salah (55) has been directly involved in more goals than the midfielder (52).
- Since 2003-04 when he originally joined Man Utd, Cristiano Ronaldo has been directly involved in 104 goals in 91 league appearances against newly promoted teams (83 goals, 21 assists), scoring or assisting every 71 minutes. He has scored 20 goals in his last 14 league games against promoted teams, across spells with Real Madrid and Juventus.
