Man United raised a lot of hopes with their pre-season performances but all that was quickly washed down the drain after their opening day loss to Brighton in the Premier League.
Man United looked like their old self last weekend as they were all over the place and without any ideas. Erik ten Hag has a massive rebuild work on his hands and he will be hoping his players can come up with a proper response on Saturday.
This weekend, United hit the road to take on Brentford and the away side needs to win this one or else it will be absolute chaos for the Red Devils.
United have won against the Bees comfortably in their last two meetings but with the kind of form that Ten Hag’s side have displayed, any team can pick up three points against them. Yes, Manchester United will go into this game as the favourites but a loss wouldn’t surprise anyone.
Man United’s team news for Saturday:
Raphael Varane was surprisingly on the bench in gameweek one as Lisandro Martinez and Maguire paired up in defence. However, the Frenchman should be coming back into the side and it will be interesting to see who the manager drops.
Ideally, it should be Martinez and Varane pairing up but there’s also a chance that Lisandro Martinez comes into midfield and Maguire and Varane play in central defence.
Fred and McTominay were pathetic against Brighton so it won’t be a shocker to see one of them move to the bench.
Luke Shaw could also move down the pecking order this weekend with Malacia coming into the first XI.
The midfield area is the biggest cause of concern and the Man United manager needs to come up with a solution if they are to challenge the likes of Spurs and Arsenal.
It was Christian Eriksen who played up front as Cristiano Ronaldo sat on the bench. However, Anthony Martial might not be fit in time for the Brentford game and if that’s the case then there’s no way Erik ten Hag can afford to keep Ronaldo on the bench.
No one will show you this because it's not Cristiano Ronaldo pic.twitter.com/LM1gBSDdoY
— TCR. (@TeamCRonaldo) August 8, 2022
Ronaldo is still being linked with an exit but as long as he’s with the club, he’s very much an asset. If Martial is not available then there’s no way Ten Hag has to name CR7 in the starting line up.
Rashford and Jadon Sancho were also underwhelming against Brighton but the manager does not have any other major options in those wides areas. If the Man United manager wishes to drop either one of them then he will have to rely on someone like Elanga or Garnarcho.
Man United predicted line up vs Brentford:
Predicted Starting Line up(4-2-3-1): De Gea; Malacia, Varane, Harry Maguire, Dalot; Martinez, Fred; Bruno Fernandes, Sancho, Rashford; Ronaldo.
Read: Pundit explains why Man United’s latest signing is not likely to succeed in the EPL.
Read: Man United will need to challenge Chelsea and Everton for this 25Y/O striker.
Stats via Fotmob
