Manchester United vs Brentford Full Match 2023-24

The Manchester United circus took on a new level of calamity in midweek, as the Red Devils twice squandered the lead, had a man sent off and conceded a penalty in a 3-2 defeat to Galatasaray in the UEFA Champions League (UCL). Under-fire manager Erik ten Hag admitted his side are in the midst of a “very difficult period”, but even that doesn’t quite do their situation justice, with United losing six of their first ten matches of a season for the first time since 1986/87.

Worryingly for Ten Hag, United replaced then-manager Ron Atkinson in November of that campaign. He’ll therefore need the Old Trafford faithful to get behind his beleaguered side, but their form on home soil has deteriorated of late. After going over a year unbeaten, the Red Devils have lost three of their last four home matches, and another reverse here could see them lose three league games in a row at Old Trafford for the first time since 1979.

The visit of an out-of-form Brentford side could well come at a good time then, as the Bees have lost five consecutive away H2Hs, not winning at United since February 1937. Boss Thomas Frank has more pressing concerns though as his outfit have won just one of their last seven in all competitions (D3, L3), with their sole success in that sequence coming over Newport County of League Two – and they needed a penalty shootout to do so!

Frank thinks his team are in a spell where they “can’t get over the line” but believes it’s “a matter of time” before they turn that around. He won’t mind another away clash then as Brentford have won three of their last six on the road (D1, L2) in the Premier League, with two of those wins coming against traditional ‘big six’ sides in Chelsea and Tottenham, while their only league win of 2023/24 also came away from home.

Players to watch: The only silver lining of the very dark cloud lingering over Old Trafford at present is new striker Rasmus Højlund, who has scored three times in two UCL appearances for the Red Devils. But with United missing three first-choice left-backs, Bryan Mbeumo could look to exploit a makeshift defence – he netted the final goal in the Bees’ 4-0 H2H drubbing at the start of last season.

Hot stat: The 18 goals United have conceded after ten games is their most at this stage of a season since 1966/67.