Manchester United vs Brentford

Manchester United’s stuttering pursuit of a second Premier League top-four finish in three years continues at Old Trafford as they welcome Brentford in a tasty-looking midweek fixture.
After an underwhelming 0-0 draw against basement boys Southampton in their most recent Premier League home outing, Manchester United slumped to a 2-0 defeat at Newcastle United at the weekend, falling to fifth in the standings. Level on points with fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur, the ‘Red Devils’ can ill-afford another slip-up if they’re to consolidate their top-four bid. However, Erik ten Hag’s men head into proceedings on the back of three consecutive scoring blanks in the Premier League, accounting for their longest goal league drought since 1989. Another failed attempt to get on the scoresheet would see Man Utd go four straight top-flight games without scoring for the first time in the club’s history. But they’ll be motivated to avoid that unwanted record as they aim to avenge a woeful 4-0 defeat from the reverse fixture.

Despite losing their last three league visits to Man Utd by an aggregate score of 10-1 in a run stretching back to 1939, visiting Brentford will be confident of turning the corner this midweek. Though they’ve drawn back-to-back Premier League matches in the build-up to this trip, the ‘Bees’ have only lost one of their last 16 Premier League outings (W7, D8), with only Arsenal, Manchester City, and Newcastle suffering fewer top-flight defeats than them (5) this term. Yet, Thomas Frank’s men have established themselves as ‘stalemate specialists,’ drawing more Premier League contests (13) than any other side in England’s top division. Brentford’s indifferent five-match away league form (W1, D3, L1) could throw a spanner in the works, though they’ll draw confidence from netting 2+ goals on their last two top-flight travels.