This Saturday sees Manchester United entertaining a resurgent Watford, and Walter Mazzari will be eager for a repeat of last week’s shock win against Arsenal at the Emirates. United are unbeaten in the league since October and are looking to preserve that run.
Man United
Coming off the back of 3 consecutive league draws, Sunday’s win away against Champions Leicester came as welcome relief for the United faithful. An impressive display from Mourinho’s men, if somewhat emphasised by Leicester’s complete lack of quality, sees them keep pace with the pack chasing 4th place. Currently sitting in 6th with 45 points, they are only 5 points behind Tottenham in second place; both Liverpool and Arsenal’s campaigns have fallen into disarray, and United now have a solid chance of claiming a Champions League spot next year. Their last Premier League loss was 4:0 against Chelsea in October, at a time when many were writing them off and declaring Mourinho to be past it. Since then, United have rallied under the Portuguese, quietly consolidating themselves into a position where they can mount a challenge on 4th place.
Watford
Watford had gone 7 league games without a win when they were dumped out of the FA Cup by League 1 Millwall. After that particularly poor performance, many were asking whether Watford would backslide into the expanding relegation fight. Their quality shone through against Arsenal, however, and they followed it up with a home win against Burnley. With 8 points in 4 games pushing them up to 10th, Watford is looking to be pretty much safe from the drop, bar a really shocking decline of form.
Head to Head
These two teams have played each other 3 times in recent years, United winning both games last season. This season, Watford have the opportunity to do the double against the Manchester giants, as the corresponding fixture at Vicarage Road in September saw Watford win 3:1, a game that brought as many plaudits down on Watford as harsh criticisms of United. Mourinho will be keen to avenge that result and score a victory against Mazzari, a man he once called “a hard working donkey” who would “never become a thoroughbred”. Mazzari will be eager to slay two giants in two weeks and get another one up on an old rival from Serie A.
Injuries
Marcos Rojo, Phill Jones and Timothy Fosu-Mensah are all in doubt for Saturday, and Wayne Rooney is currently suffering from an illness. For Watford, Costel Pantilimon, Christian Kabesele, Robert Pereya and Nordin Amrabat will all likely miss the game.
The Value
Despite Watford’s improving form and capacity for beating the top teams, I expect United to wear them down over 90 minutes. Dropping home points against Hull will be fresh in Mourinho’s mind and he won’t want to let it happen again here, and they will be all the warier after that defeat all those months ago. At 2/9 on Bet365, there is really very little value in backing a straight home win, but United to Win and BTTS/No at 2/1 might be worth a go.
Watford does have the potential to cause an upset, however, and backing them on a Double Chance at 5/2 with William Hill could be worth a pop.
Betfair:
Bet on Henrik Stenson to become the BMW PGA Championship Winner.
Paddypower:
Back Australia to take the Ashes home with them.
Betway:
Back Rafael Nadal to become the Mens French Open Winner.
Coral:
Back One For Arthur to win the Grand National.
Bet365:
Back Mexico to win the Confederations Cup.
