Watford vs Manchester United - as it happened: Jose Mourinho's men hold on for all three points
Manchester United will look to build on their win at Burnley when they travel to Vicarage Road to face an in-form Watford side who boast a 100 per cent record this season.
After a nervous start to the season against Leicester, United suffered back-to-back defeats against Brighton and Tottenham to leave them in danger of falling away from the Premier League title battle before it had got going. But a victory last time out has restored optimism that Mourinho is the right man at the helm.
Watford, however, have been the success story that no one expected this season. Four wins from four has the Hornets alongside Liverpool and Chelsea at the top of the table, and if they can pull off another shock this evening, they may start to eye an unlikely run at Europe this season.
90+3: Nemanja Matic makes a foul for his team and gets a second yellow card. The free kick is deep on the right and United have one less player to defend it.
86: Watford have a chance on the edge of the box but Deeney and Gray get in each others way. The home side are circling Manchester United but have not been able to find a way through, yet.
68: Pereyra dives over Lindelof's outstretched legs and the crowd want a free kick, a red card, millions in compensation and presumably 15 extra points in the table. They get none of that, Mike Dean waves play on.
67: The Vicarage Road crowd are really making themselves heard and it's now down to Manchester United to silence them, they've silenced enough crowds at Old Trafford.
Watford work the ball wide to Doucoure, he attacks the byline and cuts a ball back to the edge of the box towards Gray. He steps up to the ball and hammers it beyond De Gea with the side of his foot, a lovely finish.
61: The Watford crowd rise to their feet as Deeney's aggressive play wins a corner from Young. The Watford players crowd the goalkeeper and Smalling heads over for another corner after a great delivery.
58: Pogba finds Lukaku with an outstanding pass into the right channel. Kabasele matches his run and concedes a corner. Young tries a deep ball to Fellaini again, but it goes out for a throw. Disappointing, that.
49: Watford try to press a little bit higher and make things more difficult for Manchester United but the visitors are patient and won't be forced into any mistakes.
Ending a run of two defeats with a 2-0 victory at Turf Moor in their last outing, United have started to rebuild some form after a turbulent few weeks that had put the spotlight very much on manager Jose Mourinho.
The former Chelsea and Real Madrid manager still has the backing of the board, despite rumours suggesting otherwise, and United will hope they can begin to build some momentum with another win.
Standing in their way is a Watford side who have experienced a perfect start to the season with four wins from four, earning manager Javi Gracia the award for Premier League manager of the month.
With a hard fought victory over Tottenham last week, Watford will be looking for another high profile scalp as they aim to beat United for only the second time in 30 years, the last coming in 2016.
Manchester United will hope to hane (EPA)
What time does it start?
Watford vs Manchester United kicks off at 5:30pm BST.
Where can I watch it?
The match will be shown live on BT Sport 1, BT Sport 1 HD and BT Sport 4K UHD from 5:00pm BST. Highlights will be available on Match of the Day on BBC One and BBC One HD at 10:20pm BST.
It’s a big game for…
Paul Pogba: In the headlines once again this week, the spotlight will fall on Paul Pogba to step up and have a big performance against the Hornets at the weekend.
Missing a penalty against Burnley may have added to the managers growing frustration with the French international, but he will be looking for a positive response against a compact Watford side on Friday evening.
The win over Burnley eased the pressure on Mourinho (AFP/Getty)
Best stat…
7: Since Javi Gracia’s first home Premier League match in charge of Watford he has won 7 home games – the joint best home record in the league with Liverpool.
Remember when…
Juan Zuniga sweeps in to power Watford ahead 2-1. putting the Hornets on their way to their first victory over Manchester United in 30 years. The score finished 3-1 to Watford with Troy Deeney scoring a penalty in added time to secure an historic result.
Player to watch…
Roberto Pereyra: With 3 goals in his first four games, Pereyra has been at the heart of everything good that the Hornets have done this season. With United still questionable in defence, the Argentine has all the tools to unlock the door for a Watford win in this game.
Past three-meetings…
Manchester United 1 (Rashford) Watford 0, Premier League, May 2018
Watford 2 (Deeney, Doucouré) Manchester United 4 (Young 2, Martial, Lingard), Premier League, November 2017
Manchester United 2 (Mata, Martial) Watford 0, Premier League, February 2017
