Manchester United started their Premier League campaign in a positive manner, winning their first three matches. But, of late, results have not gone their way in any competition as they lost to Manchester City in their last PL match and started their Europa League campaign with loss against Feyenoord.
With such results, Manchester United will be desperate to get back to their winning ways as the Red Devils are set for an important game against Watford at Vicarage road stadium on Sunday. Manager Jose Mourinho might not have played with his best XI in the Europa League, but make no mistake, the Portuguese will start with his strongest team against Watford. The manager believes that the players should forget the loss and concentrate on Watford.
"I don't think it will be easy [to bounce back] but the game will be independent. It is a new event, it is another match, it starts at minute zero and so I think it has nothing to do with the two previous matches," Manchester United's official website quoted Mourinho as saying.
"Obviously when you lose matches then the mood and feeling is not the same. That is normal, but we are experienced people and the players are very good guys. I know they want to win, they want to work and that is what we have to do."
The Red Devils will look forward to the services of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who did not start in the Europa League. He has been sensational form for United, scoring four goals in four games, and will be eager to improve his goal-scoring record.
But, it remains to be seen if Mourinho will play defender Eric Bailly, who has been impressive at the back. The player suffered a knock in the Europa League, which could open the doors for Chris Smalling.
Though United look a strong team, they cannot afford to take Watford lightly. The home team has had tough opening fixtures, and have lost to Chelsea and Arsenal, but drew against Southampton and took three points with a win over West Ham in their last match. Hence they will come into this Manchester United game with their tails up.
The match is also not going to be about the players alone, also managers too, with Watford boss Walter Mazzari and Mourinho being strong rivals from their days in the Series A. Mazzari believes even if they manage to take three points from his old rival, his team has to concentrate on the long season ahead.
"An experienced coach like me knows the Premier League does not finish this weekend, so we will take it to the next game. If we happen to win, after two days of being very happy it's up to me to tell the players they immediately need to concentrate on the next game," Guardian quoted Mazzari as saying.
If Mourinho will depend on Ibrahimovic¸ Mazzari has a huge offensive weapon in the form of Odion Ighalo and Troy Deeney as they have it in them to score goals against any opposition.
Where to watch live
Watford vs Manchester United is scheduled for 12 pm local time (4:30 pm IST, 7 am ET) start. TV options and live streaming can be found below.
India: TV: Star Sports 2/HD and Star Sports SelectHD1. Live Streaming: Hotstar.
UK: TV: BT Sport 1. Live Streaming: BT Sport
USA: TV: NBCSN, Telemundo. Live Streaming: NBC live.
Australia: TV: Optus Sport. Live Streaming: Optus Online.
Canada: TV: Sportsnet. Live Streaming: Sportsnet world.
Africa: Supersport.
