Manchester United will line up this weekend against a familiar opponent.
Next up are Watford, who were recently taken over by veteran Italian manager Claudio Ranieri.
Ranieri’s record against United
In 16 career matches against United, Ranieri has won just twice. There have been six draws and eight losses.
Those results came during his time in charge of Chelsea, Leicester and Fulham.
His last win came all the way back in November 2003, when Chelsea beat United 1-0 at Stamford Bridge.
Ranieri’s last five meetings with United have all ended in defeat, with United scoring 15 times and conceding only three.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has only faced Ranieri once in charge of United, winning 3-0 against his Fulham side in February 2019.
This weekend United will be looking to extend Ranieri’s rotten record and rack up another win.
Solskjaer will also be looking for a major improvement from the awful performance United put in on the only previous visit to Watford of his reign.
On that occasion, David de Gea let Ismaila Sarr’s shot slip through his grasp and strike him in the face before crossing the line.
Then, Aaron Wan-Bissaka gave away a needless penalty to allow Troy Deeney to make it 2-0.
As well as de Gea and Wan-Bissaka, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Scott McTominay and Fred all started that day.
All seven that all started the humbling 2-0 Manchester derby defeat and among them, only de Gea is on any kind of form. Even he fumbled Bernardo Silva’s shot into the net last time around.
But Ranieri’s record against United should offer some encouragement, as Solskjaer goes in search of a result he desperately needs.
- Every former Man Utd player to play in MLS after Eric Bailly’s latest move
- Jason Wilcox has just shown why Amorim had to be sacked with pointed praise for Michael Carrick
- Newcastle’s £46m rejected bid proves that Man Utd have completed the best deal of the summer
- Michael Carrick might have provided a hint on Patrick Dorgu plans as transfer priority becomes clear
- Who is Tynan Thompson? Exciting Spurs wonderkid linked with move to Man Utd
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
