United boss Ralf Rangnick clearly knows how to manage the endgame, seen again with his side’s 80th-minute equaliser against Atlético in midweek, and it should be the case again against visitors Watford.
Manchester United
A pulsating 4-2 victory at Leeds last weekend saw Manchester United open up a four-point gap above fifth place. They are now seven Premier League matches unbeaten, and that success appears to be down to strength in depth, as reflected by United’s tally of ten goals via substitutes – a league-high going into the final full week of February. United boss Ralf Rangnick clearly knows how to manage the endgame, seen again with his side’s 80th-minute equaliser against Atlético in midweek, and it should be the case again against visitors Watford. Albeit in the Bundesliga, Rangnick boasts a strong managerial return across the second half of top-flight home games against newly-promoted opponents, in a record that extends back to May 1999.
Watford
Despite overseeing a 4-1 defeat against boyhood club Crystal Palace in midweek, Watford manager Roy Hodgson remains hopeful of keeping his current bottom-three side in the top-flight. A 1-0 victory at Aston Villa on their last road trip kept them in the battle, with that result marking the Hertfordshire club’s first Premier League away win ‘to nil’ since January 2020, whilst finally ending a seven-game winless run on the road. Hodgson is unbeaten in his last three personal Premier League trips to Old Trafford, but it might take a miracle to add to that, with Watford themselves losing on their last ten visits here overall. Those three unbeaten trips also came after seven straight losses for Hodgson in United’s visiting dugout, six of which saw his side on the day concede 3 goals!
United’s Anthony Elanga has been a colossal figure over the past week, netting the final goals against Leeds and Atletico. He has three wins from as many goalscoring senior Premier League matches, and faces fellow ‘Red Devils’ alumni Tom Cleverley, whose three prior Premier League goals for Watford have all changed the scoreline to ‘2-1’. Eight of Man United’s last ten goals scored during Premier League wins have come after half-time.