Manchester United found themselves in freefall and hanging on for their lives before the international break brought them some welcome respite. Defeats to Liverpool and Manchester City have only further added to the doom and gloom, meanwhile.
But their first game back comes this weekend against Watford, and represents a golden opportunity for them to pick up a crucial victory and haul their stuttering Champions League bid back on track - not that this is an easy assignment.
Far from it, in fact. Watford have a new manager in the wily Claudio Ranieri, they suffered a narrow loss to Arsenal last time out and also memorably hit five goals beyond Everton in only the second game under their new leadership.
Under-fire Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be hoping Manchester United beat Watford this weekend
Watford are yet to experience a new-manager bounce under Claudio Ranieri but are a threat
They also have players more than capable of troubling United, and their opponents - who have persisted with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the dugout despite the mounting pressure to axe him - are fragile. The signs point towards an enthralling clash.
So, as both teams gear up to re-enter battle in the Premier League, Sportsmail looks at five reasons why United simply cannot afford to underestimate Watford...
United find themselves near the bottom of the form table and need to turn their season around
1. ISMAILA SARR
United will be desperate to avoid more humiliation at the hands of Watford's flying forward Ismaila Sarr. In the past, they have tried - and failed - to sign him, and also conceded to him two years ago in a 2-0 defeat at Vicarage Road.
Ironically, the club have splashed out around £120million on three different names to fill the void at right wing, but it is Sarr who is currently in better form than all of them. To little surprise, he is dazzling and helping keep his team afloat.
It is understood that United tabled an initial season-long loan deal, with a first refusal to outright buy Sarr for £25m, last year. Watford rejected this, however, and also stood firm when Liverpool came knocking but failed to stump up the money.
This decision paid off in spades. Sarr scored 13 goals last season to help Watford rise into the top flight once again, and he has netted four this season from 11 appearances. Without him, the relegation dogfight may have looked that bit clearer.
United have every reason to be wary of his threat, therefore. Their calamitous defending this campaign has allowed an array of tricky wingers to carve them open and, unless substantial changes are made, Sarr is capable of doing just that again.
Ismaila Sarr, a one-time United transfer target, is capable of hurting them at Vicarage Road
2. NEW MANAGER 'BOUNCE'
We are, in truth, yet to see this at Watford - aside from their jaw-dropping victory at Everton. But there is still time, and Claudio Ranieri has now had two solid weeks to hone in on his side's troubles on the training field and work on fixing them.
It is a phenomenon seen many times before. A new manager will take charge at a club, bring back a semblance of the feel-good factor, and then help their side string together a run of results. Watford will hope their season plays out this way.
Ranieri is certainly well-equipped enough to make this happen. He has vast experience in football, and a Premier League winner's medal to boot, and will surely have studied Watford's failings and pieced together ways to stop the rot.
A brief glimpse at what they can do under their new tactician was seen at Goodison Park. It was a freak encounter, in all honesty, with Everton
