Watford visit Old Trafford on Sunday and United should be pumped. In the reverse fixture United fell to a 2-0 defeat following an awful performance. After a solid victory against Chelsea they should be focused on maintaining a push for the “fifth place” Champions League spot. Watford will remain dangerous and have enjoyed somewhat of a resurgence under Nigel Pearson. Watford are full of dangerous players, here we will identify the three key men.
Gerard Deulofeu
Deulofeu has been a great signing for Watford. Providing goals and assists for his team. This season he is second with four goals and top with five assists (double any of his teammates). Capable of playing across the front line with great balance and skill, Deulofeu is a crowd pleaser who can deliver outstanding performances. In equal proportions he can frustrate with inconsistent games where he can go missing. Against a big club like United you expect him to be motivated and hungry, he could prove to be a real threat for all of United’s defenders.
Abdoulaye Doucouré
A box to box midfielder with the ability to dominate games and can chip in with vital goals. Doucouré is another player who has always been linked to bigger clubs with physical attributes likening him to Yaya Toure and Patrick Viera. You can expect Fred and Matic to be challenged all game both in attack and defence.
Troy Deeney
Deeney has never been a prolific goal scorer but there are many other attributes that he adds to the team. Before the first fixture against United Deeney was limited to six games with no goals. He scored in December and since then has netted another four making him Watford’s top scorer. As the club captain Deeney brings passion and leadership to the team, which was initially missing. Furthermore Deeney is what you would call an old-fashioned English striker who hassles and harries defenders for the full 90 minutes. Maguire and Bailly will have to be at their best to dominate Deeney in the air and make sure he is kept quiet.
Once again United must approach this game without looking at Watford’s league position. If they have the same mindset as they had when playing Chelsea, you would expect a comfortable victory. However, as so many times this season against the smaller teams United have been caught out. They can’t afford to repeat the same mistakes at Old Trafford. Now 3 points off fourth, the push for Europe starts here…