Man United stumbled once again in the Premier League, this time throwing away a 2-0 lead to only secure a draw against Aston Villa. The setback means United are now seventh on the Premier League table, five points behind fourth-placed West Ham United.
United do have two games in hand, one of which will be played this midweek vs Brentford but teams like Arsenal and Spurs have all played lesser games than the Hammers so Man United need to win against the Bees if they wish to keep their top-four hopes alive.
Brentford have been in poor form, losing four out of their previous five league games but against this Manchester United side, any team can dream of picking up three points against them.
Man United are undefeated in 34 out of their 36 away league matches so they are expected to have a good outing. But at the same time, Ralf Rangnick will have to keep one eye on their next league game vs West Ham United. The interim manager has several absentees to deal with so he will have to very tactfully manage his starting XI in midweek. If the Old Trafford outfit cannot pick up a win on Wednesday then their Champions League qualification hopes will all but evaporate.
Man United team news vs Brentford:
De Gea was once again in peak form during the weekend and he was one of the pivotal reasons why Man United managed to hold onto at least one point.
The manager opted to keep Lindelof in the side and there’s a big chance he will once again pair up with Varane. Maguire has just come back from a small injury so Rangnick could try and give him another week’s rest before the key West Ham United game.
Luke Shaw will be back from suspension and he will come straight back into the side while Diogo Dalot will keep his place in the starting line up.
Scott McTominay will also be back from his suspension and he was badly missed during the Aston Villa. The midfielder will pair up with Fred and with this duo hopefully Man United can gather some command of the midfield against Brentford.
Bruno Fernandes: “I said it last season already, Anthony [Elanga] is a kid that works hard and is prepared to be in the team, prepared to play. He was, for me, one of the best on the pitch [vs Aston Villa]. He gave everything.“ #MUFC pic.twitter.com/lmdOFfNbLX
— MUFC Scoop (@MUFCScoop) January 16, 2022
Cristiano Ronaldo missed the Aston Villa game with a hip flexor injury while Marcus Rashford was out due to a dead leg. The duo did not train with the first team on Sunday and this was a major cause of concern for Rangnick’s plan.
In an interview with Sky Sports, as quoted, the manager had updated Rashford and Ronaldo’s fitness saying: “Well, I expected them back today[Sunday] but they were not available. We will have to wait and see how it develops for Wednesday.”
Thankfully, Man United have received a major boost as both Ronaldo and Rashford have returned to training. But we doubt if either of them will get starts in midweek.
Rashford has been in really poor form in the past few months so the manager could choose to keep him on the bench. And with a major game vs West Ham coming up, Ronaldo could also start on the bench and could only get 20-odd minutes during the second half – if he’s badly needed.
Anthony Elanga and Mason Greenwood were great against Aston Villa and it won’t be a surprise if both of them retain their places in the starting line up, thereby keeping Jadon Sancho.
Man United predicted line up vs Brentford:
Predicted Starting XI: De Gea; Lindelof, Varane, Luke Shaw, Dalot; Fred, McTominay; Fernandes, Elanga, Sancho; Ronaldo/Greenwood.
