Manchester United vs. Watford live score, updates, highlights & lineups from Premier League

By | February 26, 2022
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Manchester United (4th, 46 points) takes on Watford (19th, 18 points) today at Old Trafford, with the Red Devils looking to increase their unbeaten run in Premier League competition to five games and maintain their place in the top four.

Arriving into the clash in good form, Ralf Rangnick’s men will also be keen to build on the positive momentum they gained in their 1-1 UEFA Champions League Round-of-16 away draw against Atletico Madrid in midweek.

They host an out-of-sorts Watford side that has only won once in the Premier League since defeating Man United 4-1 at Vicarage Road last November. New manager Roy Hodgson has struggled to instill his defensively sound style of play onto the Hornets, something that the 74-year-old will be desperate to change today as his side looks to take a huge step towards survival in the English top-flight. Watford is currently in the relegation zone, four points from safety. 

Sporting News is following the match live and providing live score updates, commentary.

Manchester United vs. Watford live score

  1H 2H Final
Man United 0 — —
Watford 0 — —

Goals:
 

(All times Eastern)

Halftime: Man United 0, Watford 0

44th min.: One minute of added time.

42nd min.: Anthony Elanga goes down in the Watford box after a clash with Craig Cathcart, but the referee says play on. And the VAR agrees with the head official. There was nothing illegal about that. Just two players coming together for the ball in a bit of a tangle.

38th min.: Free kick for United just outside the box and Alex Telles watches his left-footed effort go high and wide. The Man United attack is fizzling out as the half approaches a close.

29th min.: Another Man United attack down the left flank and an Alex Telles cross is flicked on to Ronaldo, but he can’t poke it past goalkeeper Ben Foster. The home team has good ideas and energy. But with a half-hour gone, they’ve not buried their chances.

27th min.: Man United play on despite an injury left Louza on the ground and a Ronaldo cross finds Fernandes, but he just can’t hit the target. His header goes wide. It’s an off-night for Fernandes so far.

19th min.: Another chance for Bruno Fernandes. Paul Pogba delivers the service into the box, where Fernandes made the run, but his flying touch near the penalty mark sent it away from goal instead of on net. Fernandes is frustrated and it’s early.

15th min.: Goal Ronaldo, but it’s called back for offside. It was a fantastic, sweeping move by Man United which is moving with pace in the attack (again, Elanga is very involved, converging centrally regularly).

14th min.: So Paul Pogba has been operating centrally, while Bruno Fernandes has drifted wide left in the early stages. Everyone assumed Pogba would play wide. It’s working out well so far for Man United in attack.

12th min.: Watford ‘keeper Ben Foster with the big block on Bruno Fernandes who was put through by Anthony Elanga. The Swede is the most electric United player on the field and he’s setting the tone for his team in attack.

9th min.: Man United are a bit casual with their defending, but they explode on the counterattack and Bruno Fernandes gets a shot off after a prolonged attack. His shot was blocked.

5th min.: What a chance for Ronaldo! He hits the post after an excellent play.

3rd min.: Two early corners for Watford. Nothing comes of them for the Hornets.

1st min.: We’re off. Man United held a peace sign before the opening whistle.

9:00 a.m.: Man United fans won’t forget what Watford did to them in the reverse fixtured in November — 4-1 Watford victory:

Man United vs. Watford lineups

Going into today’s fixture, Edinson Cavani is still not available to play as he continues his recovery from a groin issue. Scott McTominay will also be absent for the Reds, after failing to recover from an illness that kept him out of the successful trip to the Spanish capital on Wednesday night. 

Harry Maguire, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho all get a rest, as Victor Lindelof and Anthony Elanga are given starts and Paul Pogba is expected to play in a wide attacking role.

Man United starting lineup (4-2-3-1, right to left): 1-David De Gea (GK) — 29-Aaron Wan-Bissaka, 2-Victor Lindelof, 19-Raphael Varane, 27-Alex Telles — 17-Fred, 31-Nemanja Matic — 36-Anthony Elanga, 18-Bruno Fernandes, 6-Paul Pogba — 7-Cristiano Ronaldo.

Manchester United subs (9): 26-Dean Henderson (GK), 20-Diogo Dalot, 5-Harry Maguire, 23-Luke Shaw, 4-Phil Jones, 25-Jadon Sancho, 10-Marcus Rashford, 14-Jesse Lingard, 8-Juan Mata

As for Watford, Nicolas Nkoulou and Peter Etobo are forced to sit on the sidelines as they work their way back from their respective knocks. Joao Pedro could add fuel to the Hornets attack off the bench, with the Brazilian likely to be involved in some capacity after shaking off an injury. 

Juraj Kucka will also be ready to come on as a sub, providing some creativity for Hodgson’s side going forward. Moussa Sissoko is captaining the side from midfield and will hope that his experience and power can give his side an edge in the heat of the battle. 

Watford starting line-up: (4-3-3, right to left) 1-Ben Foster (GK) — 2-Jeremy Ngakia, 15-Craig Cathcart, 22-Samir, 14-Hassane Kamara — 19-Moussa Sissoko, 6-Imran Louza, 8-Tom Cleverley — 23-Ismaila Sarr, 7-Joshua King, 25-Emmanuel Dennis

Watford subs (9): 26-Daniel Bachmann (GK), 27-Christian Kabasele, 11-Adam Masina, 5-William Troost-Ekong, 39-Edo Kayembe, 33-Juraj Kucka, 12-Ken Sema, 10-Joao Pedro, 29-Cucho Hernandez

How to watch Manchester United vs. Watford

  • Date: Saturday, Feb. 26
  • Time: 10 a.m. ET
  • USA TV channel: USA Network
  • USA streaming: fuboTV
  • Canada streaming: DAZN

USA: The match will be broadcast on USA Network (English) and Universo (Spanish) in the USA. Both those channels can be streamed on fuboTV, which is available to new users on a free trial.

Canada: The Premier League is available exclusively live and on demand on DAZN in Canada.

Man United vs. Watford betting odds

Odds courtesy of DraftKings

Goals could be flowing in this match, with both sides carrying attacking prowess that could lead to plenty of chances. And the odds point to just that with the over 2.5 goals at -140.

Man United has a list of attackers who could inflict damage on the relegation-threatened Hornets. Of course, Cristiano Ronaldo will more than likely be at the center of Man United’s forward play and Anthony Elanga has proven himself to be a capable threat for the Reds, scoring twice in two games against Leeds United and Atletico Madrid. 

Conversely, Watford will be expected to carry a threat on the counterattack which could make for some nervy moments for Ralf Rangnick’s men. Emmanuel Dennis has shown his ability as a clinical finisher in front of goal, netting nine times in the Premier League this season. The Nigerian forward will be desperate to reach double figures in today’s clash. 

  • Moneyline: Man United (-265) / Draw (+400) / Watford (+750)
  • Spread: Man United -1.5 (+115) / Watford +1.5 (-130)
  • O/U 2.5 total goals: Over (-140) / Under (+115) 
  • Both Teams To Score: Yes (+100) / No (-125) 

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