When the season began, few people would have expected to see Watford flying high up in the table. With four wins from four, the Hornets welcome Manchester United to Vicarage Road. Can they continue their blistering start to the season, and really put a dampener on the mood at United?

Watford News

Having come back from 1-0 down to beat Tottenham Hotspur in their last match, coach Javi Gracia will be delighted with his teams start to the season. Troy Deeney looks reborn, while Roberto Pereyra is showing why he’s been linked with a move up the football food chain once again.

So far, Watford have been very impressive, conceding just three goals thanks to the solidity of their backline. If they are going to do anything in this game, expect them to maintain a consistent line-up, using the power of the likes of Jose Holebas to really make a significant impact. His power and strength should help to keep United’ pacey attackers out wide back.

Manchester United News

The Red Devils will arrive at this one hoping they can replicate their performance up at Burnley. While Marcus Rashford will miss out, despite scoring two in two for England, with suspension, United should not have too many injury problems to worry about.

They’ll need to see more from star players like Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku, though. Both have started the season well, but have yet to show they can get United out of a hole when they really need it on a consistent basis: with Watford expected to fly out the traps, now would be a good time to start.

Verdict

We can see a draw opening up here; United looked good against Burnley and appear to have gotten over some of their earlier worries. Watford are a good side, though, and should be able to get something from the game. We tipped Watford to fight relegation this season; at present, we wouldn’t be surprised to see them dominate here. At home, they are a fearsome proposition.

After a decent start to the season, Leicester City play host to the potential title challengers in Liverpool. The Foxes have often been a bit of a bogy team for the Reds since they returned to the top flight, and will look to make up for two hard-to-take defeats to Liverpool last year.

Without their kryptonite in Jamie Vardy, though, can the Foxes hunt down the Reds and outscore one of the most effervescent teams in the league?

Leicester News

Expect Leicester to stick to a similar line-up to their last games, with Marc Albrighton, James Maddison and Demarai Gray lining up behind Kelechi Iheanacho. The Nigerian forward has struggled at times in the Midlands, and will need to use this time starting up top to displace Vardy for the long-term.

Wilfried Ndidi will play in midfield alongside Nampalys Mendy, who appears to be revived under Claude Puel. In defence, Wes Morgan will likely start with new signings Filip Benkovic and Caglar Soyuncu likely not ready to play just yet.

Liverpool News

Jurgen Klopp made clear after their fraught win against Brighton and Hove Albion that changes would likely be coming after naming the same line-up for three games on the spin. For this game, expect to see Jordan Henderson returning to the line-up, with Giorginio Wijnaldum the most likely one to miss out.

Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah will start up top too, but we could see Daniel Sturridge given a game. Naby Keita might not start, either, having quickly shown signs of fatigue in the Brighton match amid acclimatization to the league.

Verdict

We can see an away win coming: Leicester are a good side, though, and will definitely cause them problems. This is likely to be the biggest test of Alisson Becker’ early Liverpool career: if Liverpool can win their fourth game on the spin, it’ll be the first time in the Premier League era they have won all four.

After what could only be described as a shambolic away loss to Brighton and Hove Albion, Manchester United need to find form – and fast. With a poor transfer window only matched by the non-entity that Tottenham endured, how will two sides lacking in fresh legs show up here?

Manchester United News

It’s hard to tell how United will line-up this year: Jose Mourinho has found a unique habit of chopping and changing. Whatever happens, expect Paul Pogba to start in the middle of the pitch, with any mixture of midfielders likely to come in alongside him. Alexis Sanchez is likely to be out, so we could see Anthony Martial play another game – or indeed Marcus Rashford, who should now be fit enough to play.

They’ll need more out of Romelu Lukaku, who was anonymous at times last time out. Expect Mourinho to ring the changes.

Tottenham News

Spurs have started the season well, with two wins against Newcastle United and Fulham respectively. While the stadium delay has put a mild dampener on things, they look well placed to have a good season despite the lack of signings.

Expect a similar – if not identical – line-up to the Fuham win. Harry Kane will likely be paired up with Dele Alli again in a second-striker role, while we can expect to see a return of some of the Spurs FIFA World Cup stars.

There’s not a great deal of change to make with Spurs at the moment, so expect a consistency and solidity to their line-ups as the season develops.

Verdict

Quality counts, and we can see both teams having enough quality to cancel each other out. We’re going to call this as an exciting and intense draw, with both teams likely to score – and both equally likely to concede.

Manchester united might not have finished the season with silverware, but there were some quite remarkable improvements compared with the previous season. To begin with, Jose Mourinho’s men ended the season as runners
up, four positions up from what they had managed in 2016-2017. United also had 81 points, 12 more than the previous season. Other remarkable achievements included conceding fewer goals while scoring more. Winning the FA cup would have allowed United end the season on a high, but Chelsea made sure it wasn’t to be.

The start of the season looked very promising for united, with six out of seven wins in their first matches. However, their defeat at the hands of Huddersfield and then Chelsea seemed to set Mourinho’s men back, and soon it became clear that they would have to play catch up to eventual title winners Manchester City. Indeed, City’s win over United in December was enough to make Mourinho admit that all hope of winning the title was now probably over.

The team’s form during the second half of the season seemed patchy, with pundits and fans questioning the coach’s tactics at times. His conservative approach led to the defeat to Sevilla as United crashed out of the Champion’s league. His team selection also proved divisive. That said, though, there were still some very good days for Mourinho this season, with the win over rivals Manchester City at Etihad standing out.

That United are serious title contenders next season is something many people will question. As it is, Pep Gurdiola’s men are still the clear favorites. The arrival of new players in the summer will, of course, boost the team’s confidence. So far, Mourinho has signed a few notable names, with Fred the latest entrant into an arguably bland team. But if Manchester United are to mount any serious challenge for the title next year, Mourinho must improve their style of play.