Manchester United will be looking to bounce back from their season opening defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion when they resume their Premier League campaign against Brentford. Erik ten Hag’s debut at the helm of Manchester United started disastrously with a 2-1 loss to Brighton at Old Trafford. The worst thing is that even the one goal scored by Manchester Utd wasn’t the work of their players – Brighton’s midfielder Alexis Mac Allister scored an own-goal. The good news for Man United is that they defeated Brentford in both games last season.
But the morale is high in Brentford’s locker room at the moment after making a late comeback against Leicester to secure a point. Brentford’s squad for the 2022-23 season looks pretty decent as the club’s managed to keep the core of the team intact while also signing a couple of new players. During the summer transfer period, they strengthened their defense by bringing in experienced central defender Ben Mee from Burnley. They also signed enthusiastic youngster Aaron Hickey from Bologna, a player whose preferred position is left-back.
Injury/Suspension List:
Brentford will again be missing three players for this weekend’s contest, with Kristoffer Ajer, Sergi Canos and Ethan Pinnock unavailable for selection. Josh Da Silva and Ivan Toney are crowd favorites and will look to continue their form going into matchday two. New signing Damsgaard could also make the squad following his recent arrival.
As for Man United, Anthony Martial missed out last weekend due to a hamstring problem, and remains a doubt for the clash at Brentford. Brandon Williams and Pellistri are unavailable as well due to injury with Mason Greenwood continuing his suspension. Ronaldo could potentially come in for Scott McTominay, with Eriksen moving back into a deeper area, while Raphael Varane and Malacia are also pushing for spots in the starting side.
Manchester United Probable Line-up Vs Brentford (4-2-3-1):
David De Gea(GK); Diogo Dalot(RB), Raphael Varane(CB), Victor Lindelöf(CB), Tyrell Malacia (LB); Fred(CM), Christian Eriksen(CM); Rashford(RW), Jadon Sancho(LW), Bruno Fernandes(CAM); Cristiano Ronaldo(ST)
Predicted Score: Brentford 1-1 Manchester United
It is difficult to be optimistic about United but the players will be expected to make a strong statement after a poor defeat at Brighton with Ronaldo scoring an early goal against Brentford. But Man Utd’s defensive issues should come to haunt them and Ivan Toney could score a late equalizer with the crowd expected to play a part.
See More:
- Manchester United Looking to Re-sign €35m Rated La Liga Striker on Ten Hag’s Interest
- Erik Ten Hag Pushing Manchester United Board to Sign €40m Rated Serie A Full-back
- Agent of Manchester United Superstar Hold Talks With Former Club Regarding a Potential Move
The Red Devils have no other option before them but to go to Brentford and try and get a win especially with rivals Liverpool as their opponents for next week. They can’t count on points in that game, but they are definitely capable of getting all three against Brentford. It was the first game with Erik ten Hag as the boss of Man United, and it’s now up to him to prove he’s the right man for the job. He did make a couple of controversial decisions on his debut ,keeping outcast Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench until the second half.
Talks of bringing in Marko Arnautovic and Adrien Rabiot smacks of panic buying but United certainly need some more help in the current window. New boys Lisandro Martinez and Christian Eriksen did show some promise, though, and Ronaldo should be fitter for that run-out. Although Brentford are capable of causing plenty of issues, we believe that the visitors will have enough quality to just about get over the line in this contest.
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