Watford v Sheffield United live stream, Monday 1 August, 8pm BST
Two of the leading contenders to win promotion to the Premier League this term will go head-to-head on Monday night, as Watford welcome Sheffield United to Vicarage Road.
The Hornets will be delighted to leave last season behind. Virtually everything that could go wrong for the club did. In hindsight, the decision to sack Xisco Munoz at the beginning of October did more harm than good. Chopping and changing managers has worked for Watford in the past, but both Claudio Ranieri and Roy Hodgson were huge disappointments.
Perhaps experience is overrated. That is the conclusion Watford have reached judging by their choice of successor to Hodgson: the 39-year-old Rob Edwards, who led Forest Green Rovers into League One in his first (and only) season as a Football League manager in 2021/22.
Watford will be aiming to secure an instant return to the top flight. Vakoun Issouf Bayo and Rey Menaj are intriguing signings from Sporting Charleroi and Barcelona respectively, while they have so far managed to retain Ismaila Sarr, Emmanuel Dennis and Tom Cleverley.
Sheffield United suffered play-off heartache last season, as they lost on penalties to Nottingham Forest in the semi-finals. Still, there were plenty of positives to take from the campaign as a whole: United were languishing just a few places above the relegation zone when Paul Heckingbottom replaced Slavisa Jokanovic in the dugout in late November.
The Blades have only made one permanent signing so far this window, acquiring Anel Ahmedhodzic from Malmo. They have been busy in the loan market, though, striking deals for Tommy Doyle from Manchester City, Ciaran Clark from Newcastle and Reda Khadra from Brighton.
Several members of United's most recent Premier League squad remain at Bramall Lane too, including Sander Berge, John Fleck, Oliver Norwood, George Baldock, Chris Basham, Enda Stevens and Billy Sharp, the latter of whom became the Championship's all-time leading goalscorer last season.
Kick-off is at 8pm BST on Monday 1 August, and the game is being broadcast live by Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Football. See below for international broadcast options.
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VPN guide
Use a VPN to watch Premier league football from outside your country
If you’re out of the country for a round of Premier League fixtures, then annoyingly your domestic on-demand services won’t work – the broadcaster knows where you are because of your IP address (boo!). You'll be blocked from watching it, which is not ideal if you’ve paid up for a subscription and still want to catch the action without resorting to illegal feeds you’ve found on Reddit.
But assistance is on hand. To get around that, all you have to do is get a Virtual Private Network (VPN), assuming it complies with your broadcaster’s T&Cs. A VPN creates a private connection between your device and t'internet, meaning the service can’t work out where you are and won't automatically block the service you've paid for. All the info going between is entirely encrypted – and that's a result.
There are plenty of good-value options out there, including:
UK TV rights
How to watch Premier League live streams for UK subscribers
Sky Sports and BT Sport are the two main players once again, but Amazon also have a slice of the pie in 2021/22.
US TV rights
How to watch Premier League live streams for US subscribers
NBC Sports Group are the Premier League rights holders, with the Peacock Premium streaming platform showing even more than the 175 games it aired last season, with other matches split between NBCSN channel, CNBC and the over-the-air NBC broadcast channel. If you pick up a fuboTV subscription for the games not on Peacock Premium, you'll be able to watch every game.
Head back to our VPN advice so you can take advantage when you're out of the country.
Canada TV rights
How to watch Premier League live streams for Canadian subscribers
DAZN subscribers can watch every single Premier League game in 2021/22 – and it gets better. After a one-month free trial, you'll only have to pay a rolling $20-a-month fee, or make it an annual subscription of $150.
The broadcaster also has all the rights to Champions League and Europa League games in Canada, too.
Want in while you're out of Canada? Scroll back up and check out the VPN offers above.
Australia TV rights
How to watch Premier League live streams for Australian subscribers
Optus Sport are offering every game of the Premier League season for just $14.99/month for non-subscribers, which you can get via a Fetch TV box and other friendly streaming devices.
To take advantage while you're not Down Under, follow the VPN advice towards the top of this page.
New Zealand TV rights
How to watch a Premier League live stream for New Zealand subscribers
Spark Sport are serving up all 380 games – plus various highlights and magazine shows throughout the week, as well as the Champions League – for $24.99 a month, after a seven-day free trial.
It's also available via web browsers, Apple/Android devices, Google Chromecast and some Samsung TVs, and Apple TV and Smart TV compatibility new for this season.
Check out our VPN deals to watch when you’re not in New Zealand.
