Watford vs Manchester United - as it happened: Jose Mourinho's men come out on top in six-goal thriller
Re-live all the action from Vicarage Road
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Your support makes all the difference.Manchester United travel to Watford on Tuesday looking to improve upon their 1-0 victory against Brighton over the weekend.
Jose Mourinho’s men edged past the Seagulls in a disappointing display at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon and face another tough test against Marco Silva’s Watford.
Romelu Lukaku will be free to play for United after avoiding punishment for his conduct towards Brighton’s Gaetan Bony. For Watford, Sebastian Prodl is in contention to make a first start since August.
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What time does it start?
The game kicks off at 8pm on Tuesday 28 November at Vicarage Road.
Where can I watch it?
The match will be broadcast on BT Sport 1. Coverage starts at 7.15pm.
It’s a big game for…
Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian may have eight goals and three assists to his name so far this season but the forward has not yet won over his critics. With Zlatan Ibrahimovic back from injury some quarters of the United faithful have called for Mourinho to drop Lukaku in favour of the Swede. A big performance from the 24-year-old against Watford would surely go some way to reminding the United boss of his worth. The pressure is on.
Remember when…
United suffered their third defeat in a week at the hands of Watford at the start of last season? Late goals from Juan Zuniga and Troy Deeney secured a 3-1 victory for the Hornets.
Player to watch…
Richarlison. Watford continued their fine away form at the weekend with a 3-0 victory over Newcastle. Richarlison was particularly impressive, providing Andre Gray with the assist for the visitors’ third at St James' Park. The Brazilian forward now has five goals and three assists under his belt and has now allegedly caught the interest of Tottenham. Against a defensively vulnerable United side, Richarlison could be the man to do some real damage on Tuesday.
Form guide…
Watford: WWLLLW
Manchester United: WLWLW
Head to head:
Manchester United 2 Watford 0, Premier League, February 2017
Watford 3 Manchester United 1, Premier League, September 2016
Manchester United 1 Watford 0, Premier League, March 2016
Odds…
Watford to win: 19/4
Draw: 3/1
Manchester United to win: 4/6
Let's have a closer look at the team news from Vicarage Road...
...where Watford boss Marco Silva has made just one change from the side that swept Newcastle aside on Saturday; Sebastian Prodl replaces Miguel Britos in defence after the Uruguayan limped off early in the second half at St James' Park. Meanwhile, Tom Cleverley features in midfield against his former club while goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes captains the Hornets.
It's two changes for Manchester United after Jose Mourinho's men scraped past Brighton and Hove Albion three days ago. Jesse Lingard takes the place of Marcus Rashford in the visitors' forward line, but the notable team news comes in defence where Marcos Rojo makes his first appearance in over seven months. The Argentine returns from injury and replaces Juan Mata as United look to go with three at the back to match up with their opponents.
Watford: Gomes, Mariappa, Prodl, Kabasele, Femenia, Cleverley, Doucoure, Zeegelaar, Hughes, Richarlison, Gray
Subs: Karnezis, Wague, Janmaat, Capoue, Carrillo, Pereyra, Deeney
Manchester United: De Gea, Lindelof, Smalling, Rojo, Valencia, Pogba, Matic, Young, Lingard, Martial, Lukaku
Subs: Romero, Darmian, Herrera, McTominay, Mata, Rashford, Ibrahimovic
Referee: Jonathan Moss
The Hornets may be high-flying in the Premier League this season, but this fixture has not been kind to them.
However, they did throw a spanner in the works the last time United came to town.
Brighton and Crystal Palace meet for the first time as Premier League clubs this evening and, in doing so, resurrect one of the most peculiar rivalries in football. It's one that all started when a Palace fan threw a cup of tea over Alan Mullery - or so I thought.
KICK-OFF: The first two of four Premier League games this evening are off and away at the AMEX and King Power Stadiums. It must be a bitterly cold evening down on the south coast, what other explanation could there be for the Palace fans' collective get up.
At Vicarage Road, the two teams emerge to the packed-out stands of this rickety old stadium. Watford, of course, one of the 478 English clubs to come out to the theme tune from Z-Cars.
13 mins: GOAL! LEICESTER 1 TOTTENHAM 0:
Before the action can get underway at Vicarage Road, Jamie Vardy opens the goalscoring in the Premier League for the night. He may be in his thirties now but the Leicester striker can still be electric with a yard of grass in front of him as he just proved, moving on to Marc Albrighton's through ball to flick an exquisite finish past Hugo Lloris. It's the 100th league goal of the forward's career.
KICK-OFF: But now we are underway at Watford! A one-man show from Romelu Lukaku kicks-off the action in Hertfordshire.
West Bromwich Albion against Newcastle has also begun if anyone is interested. Actually, that might not be too bad now that Tony P has departed the Hawthorns.
7 mins: After a quiet start at Vicarage Road, it's Watford who have the first sniff of goal. Clever play from Kiko Femenia on the right opens up room to cross, and his delivery has Richarlison darting towards the near post. The Brazilian looks set to add to his growing reputation with another notable strike, but excellent last-ditch defending from Victor Lindelof muscles the Watford man away from the danger zone.
12 mins: Eyebrows were raised when Romelu Lukaku escaped punishment for his Old Trafford antics at the weekend, allowing him to play this evening but on the evidence so far, he needn't have bothered. The Belgian has barely seen the ball, let alone touched it, as the game continues to be played almost entirely in the Manchester United defensive half.
And with that, United win their first corner of the game.
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