And so the permanent Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reign begins at Manchester United. On the back of two defeats, admittedly, but the Norwegian is now the beholder of the club's confidence for the next three years.
We have still to see whether Solskjaer is able to steer his side through the other side of a barren spell, with 14 wins from his 19-game temporary tenure, and a win against Watford would serve as a quick validation of United's move to bring forward their decision over the direction of the club forward.
United were unlucky in the Premier League defeat against Arsenal but poor in the FA Cup quarter-final defeat at Wolves - Solskjaer termed the performance the 'poorest' on his watch to date - and the rest afforded to the majority of his squad provides the Reds with the perfect opportunity to get their march for the top four back on track.
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Just six members of the 25-man first team squad featured for their nations during the international break, with Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard and Luke Shaw all absent from England duty through injury. All three are in contention for the visit of Watford, though, with Alexis Sanchez, Matteo Darmian and Antonio Valencia the only confirmed absentees from Saturday afternoon's fixture.
Anthony Martial's ongoing knee problem kept him out of France's games and the 23-year-old, if fit, should feature on the left of a forward line spearheaded by Rashford, with Lingard on the right. The trio lined up against Wolves at Molineux but Lingard operated as an advanced midfielder - his deployment in a wide position would offer United the energy they lacked in their last run-out.
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Scott McTominay was perhaps unfortunate to lose his berth in midfield when Nemanja Matic returned from injury ahead of the international fixtures. His performances against Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain were evidence of his worth to this United team and he should no longer be considered a last resort in United's midfield three. Paul Pogba and Ander Herrera harnessed a strong understanding with McTominay in Matic's absence and the Scot's legs could prove key against a Watford side who present dangers on the counter-attack.
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Behind them, Chris Smalling and Victor Lindelof have asserted themselves as Solskjaer's strongest centre-back pairing and it would be a surprise to see either of them absent from the starting XI at Old Trafford - particularly after both enjoyed 10 days' rest. Luke Shaw remains the club's best left-back while Ashley Young, the 33-year-old, provides the experienced head that this United side could be accused of lacking after Diogo Dalot's underwhelming display against Wolves.
Predicted XI: De Gea, Young, Smalling, Lindelof, Shaw, Herrera, Pogba, McTominay, Lingard, Rashford, Martial.
