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4-3-3: Man Utd predicted XI to face Watford

On Saturday, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer takes charge of his first game as Manchester United manager since being appointed the full-time manager on Thursday.

Visitors Watford start the weekend in the top half of the Premier League table but have lost their last two away games – 5-0 at Liverpool and 3-1 at Manchester City.

We had a number of players withdraw from their national team over the break but only Alexis Sanchez has been confirmed to miss tomorrow’s game.

Here is the team I think Solskjaer will start against the Hornets:

Goalkeeper: David de Gea
The Spaniard conceded a penalty to Joshua King over the international break but did not participate in their trip to Malta on Tuesday. David de Gea hasn’t kept a clean sheet since our 0-0 draw with Liverpool in late February.

Defence: Ashley Young, Chris Smalling, Victor Lindelof, Luke Shaw
Luke Shaw withdrew from the England squad but is expected to be fit to face Watford this weekend. This allows Ole to go with his preferred back four, which includes Chris Smalling partnering Victor Lindelof.

Midfield: Nemanja Matic, Ander Herrera, Paul Pogba
Nemanja Matic was another player to withdraw from his national team over the break in order to get back to full fitness ahead of this weekend’s game. The Serbian should start this one in front of our back four, with Ander Herrera and Paul Pogba partnering him in front of a central midfield three. This trio has been one of the most consistent starting combinations under the Norwegian boss.

Attack: Jesse Lingard, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial
Romelu Lukaku picked up a knock whilst representing Belgium and is a doubt to face Watford this weekend. As a result, I think we’ll see a front three instead of two strikers. This means Marcus Rashford playing as the striker, flanked by Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial. Rashford and Martial are both rested from withdrawing from their squads over the international break.

Here is our team on paper: