Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal has confirmed that he will be without both Anthony Martial and Wayne Rooney for Saturday’s game against Watford.
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Speaking to the media at his Friday press conference, as reported by Sky Sports, the Dutchman conceded that Martial will be missing after picking up a foot injury in the international friendly between France and England earlier this week.
Meanwhile, Rooney is ill and will not be able to feature while midfielder Michael Carrick also misses out after sustaining an ankle injury against Spain last week.
In contrast, there was some happier news for the Red Devils as Van Gaal confirmed that both Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin would be fit to play. However, that doesn’t ease their fears about how they will be able to break their opposition down.
United have struggled at the best of times so far this season to score goals having found the net just 17 times in 12 games which is one of the worst goalscoring records in the Premier League at this stage of the season.
Martial will arguably be the bigger loss considering the Frenchman’s pace and movement have been crucial to the team’s offensive success, although Rooney’s creativity will also be a noticeable absence.
Despite their troubles so far this season, Van Gaal’s men remain just two points adrift of joint league leaders Manchester City and Arsenal, and they will be hopeful of piling the pressure on their rivals by winning in the early kickoff and leapfrogging them both.
However, Watford have a relatively decent defensive record this season having conceded 12 goals in 12 games, and they will certainly put up a fight in front of their home supporters which could ultimately end up adding to Van Gaal’s frustration.
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