Manchester United visit Brentford in Saturday’s late kickoff live on Kilamity and you wouldn’t be exaggerating if you called this a must-win game for the Red Devils.
After an embarrassing opening day defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford and with Liverpool visiting next week (a team they’ve only beaten once in the last 8 games), the biggest fear for Erik ten Hag and his men is that there is a very realistic chance they could start the season with 3 consecutive losses & be rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table if they don’t get a win on Saturday.
With Cristiano Ronaldo still pushing for an exit behind the scenes and the club still struggling to get signings over the line (most notably Frankie de Jong), there’s no shortage of distractions for the club on and off the field.
Brentford, on the other hand, would be satisfied with their performance last weekend at Leicester City. Just like Man Utd, they went 2-goals down but unlike Man Utd, they showed a lot of resilience in fighting back and earning themselves a draw. In fact, since the start of last season, Brentford has secured an impressive 16 points from losing positions; only Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur have more.
This game would also see an emotional return for Christian Eriksen. After being out for several months due the cardiac arrest he suffered at the EUROs, the Dane signed a 6-month contract with Brentford and helped reignite their season when it looked like they were running out of gas. Between the time he signed and the end of the season, only Man City’s Kevin de Bruyne and Arsenal’s Martin Ødegaard created more chances than he did and there’s no doubt he’ll receive a hero’s welcome.
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