Stones and Fernandinho help City beat Manchester United in Carabao Cup
The Red Devils will hope to kickstart their cup campaign in style after suffering a 2-0 defeat by Manchester City in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup in midweek. Before that loss to their bitter rivals, United were in scintillating form with five wins in their previous six outings – the other result being a 2-2 draw at Leicester. They host a Watford team that have struggled to maintain steady form since being relegated from the Premier League. The Hornets are sixth in the Championship and kicked off the New Year with a frustrating defeat at Swansea a week ago.
It will be interesting to see how strong a side Ole Gunnar Solskjaer opts to field against Watford, with the likes of Axel Tuanzebe and Donny van de Beek set to play. The Dutchman signed for United from Ajax in the summer for £35 million and he has struggled to receive any meaningful game time under Solskjaer. He will likely play in an advanced role with the club likely to rest Bruno Fernandes following the talismanic playmaker’s brilliant form in the Premier League. The fixture doesn’t bode well for Watford, who are without a win at Old Trafford in 13 games – a run stretching back to October 1978. Follow all the action live below at the conclusion of Arsenal vs Newcastle:
Man Utd 1 – 0 Watford
48 mins: Williams finds Greenwood to the right of the Watford box. Mata and Lingard are in the box but Greenwood’s cross doesn’t find either of them and Chalobah works it clear.
Michael Jones9 January 2021 21:09
Man Utd 1 – 0 Watford
Second half: Watford get the match back underway. Man Utd have scored second half goals in six of their last seven matches. No further changes from either team.
Michael Jones9 January 2021 21:06
A bit of reaction from the Emirates now as Arsenal were taken into extra time by Newcastle but ultimately proved too much for the North East side:
Michael Jones9 January 2021 20:53
Man Utd 1 – 0 Watford
45+4 mins: Half time. Man Utd started the game sharply and dominated the early stages. They got in front and then took their foot off the gas. Watford grew into the game and caused some problems from set pieces. They’ve shown they can be a threat to the Red Devils. It’s set up for a promising second half.
Michael Jones9 January 2021 20:51
Man Utd 1 – 0 Watford
45+4 mins: Harry Maguire comes on for Man Utd to defend a Watford corner. Eric Bailly is off completely.
Michael Jones9 January 2021 20:50
Man Utd 1 – 0 Watford
45+4 mins: Harry Maguire comes on for Man Utd to defend a Watford corner. Eric Bailly is off completely.
Michael Jones9 January 2021 20:50
Man Utd 1 – 0 Watford
45+2 mins: The physios come on to check Bailly over and a stretcher is brought on. Bailly is on his feet and looks to be going through concussion protocols. The physios walk him off the pitch trying to keep his neck still.
Michael Jones9 January 2021 20:48
Man Utd 1 – 0 Watford
45 mins: Dean Henderson decides to come out and punch away a cross into the box. He clatters his own teammate Eric Bailly who takes a bit of a hit. One added minute to play.
Michael Jones9 January 2021 20:46
Man Utd 1 – 0 Watford
42 mins: Lovely stuff from Van de Beek, Greenwood and Telles on the left wing as they combine to put Greenwood running into space. He puts a low ball into the area that is cleared out to Telles. He shoots from range and forces Bachmann into a decent save.
Michael Jones9 January 2021 20:42
Man Utd 1 – 0 Watford
39 mins: Lingard’s carrying the ball up the pitch with Sarr chasing him. Sarr catches up but puts his hand on the Man Utd midfielder and he goes down. Sarr is shown a yellow card.
Michael Jones9 January 2021 20:38
