Early team news for Watford v United

The Reds will be keen to turn over a new leaf after the disappointing home defeat to Manchester City at the beginning of the month and our Vicarage Road visit is the first of three consecutive away trips in all competitions.

Claudio Ranieri’s side are one place clear of the relegation zone after returning to the top flight this season, having won three, drawn one and lost seven of their games so far.

Paul Pogba is suspended, with the meeting being the third and final match of the ban imposed on him for his red card against Liverpool in October. Also, the Frenchman sustained a thigh muscle injury while away with his national side and he now joins compatriot Raphael Varane on the sidelines.

There are doubts too about Edinson Cavani, with the Uruguayan sitting out the Manchester derby due to a tendon problem and not joining up with his national team.

Luke Shaw, meanwhile, didn’t play a part for England in their games with Albania and San Marino as he recovered from the concussion sustained during that 2-0 loss to City.

While there were plenty of United players in action over the international break, Scott McTominay didn’t play for Scotland. The midfielder was ill but posted an encouraging update on social media earlier this week.

There is also good news regarding Marcus Rashford, after he decided to remain in Manchester rather than join up with Gareth Southgate’s squad due to recent illness.

The England forward was pictured working at Carrington this week alongside Jesse Lingard and Jadon Sancho, who also watched the Three Lions qualify for the World Cup from home.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Alex Telles, Donny van de Beek and Anthony Martial were among those included in our set of images, alongside youngsters from the Academy.

While we await news of the composition of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s squad for the journey down south, a major talking point will be whether the boss decides to stick with the 3-4-1-2 formation which served us so well during our last away league fixture, the 3-0 win at Tottenham.

WATFORD TEAM NEWS

The Hornets have also had several players away on international duty over the last week or so, with defender Francisco Sierralta involved in Chile’s defeat to Ecuador in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Slovakian midfielder Juraj Kucka will be suspended for United’s visit, having picked up two yellow cards in the recent reverse at Arsenal.

Ken Sema (knee) and Peter Etebo (thigh) are longer-term absentees, while centre-back Christian Kabasele is still on the road to recovery after a hamstring strain.