Watford head coach Walter Mazzarri has dismissed suggestions of bad feeling between himself and Jose Mourinho ahead of his side's meeting with Manchester United on Sunday.

The pair were rival managers in Italy when Mazzarri was at Sampdoria and then Napoli and Mourinho was at Inter.

"I have a very good relationship with Mourinho. Sometimes the press looks at what happened before in Italy but that is normal because when you fight for a top position it's normal that sometimes you say a couple of things one to the other.

"But I have a good professional relationship with him; there's professional respect."