The Red Devils look to bounce back at home after a string of injuries and squad rumors.
Manchester United and Brentford will kick off the eighth round of the 2023-24 English Premier League (PL) season at 11 p.m. ET today at Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester, England. United is currently 10th in the league with nine points, while Brentford is 14th with seven points.
United have had their worst run of form this season with three wins and four losses. Last season, they finished third in the table with 23 wins, six draws, and nine losses, but with four defeats already, it’s a different story. They’ve lost more games than they’ve won in the league, and even the ones they’ve won have been by a single goal.
The problem is that their attack down the right flank is weak and they often lose space behind the defense. There are also frequent mistakes in the build-up from the back, and the defense has been shaky, with Andre Onana, coach Eric ten Haag’s trusted ‘protégé’, making frequent mistakes. The team has lost its last two games, making it two straight defeats.
There is also some noise in the squad. Jadon Sancho, a highly touted signing, has been in an ongoing feud with Van Gaal this season. Born in 2000, Sancho was touted as one of United’s future stars, but he has struggled to show the same sharpness he showed at Dortmund. This season hasn’t been promising either. He hasn’t been included in the starting XI due to a falling out with Van Gaal and has definitely lost out in the race for a starting spot.
Worst case scenario. The mood at the club is tense, with Van Gaal even talking about sacking him. Add in the Champions League and a series of string injuries, and it’s a recipe for disaster.
To make matters worse. The injuries are piling up, and many of them are defenders. With only two clean sheets in seven games so far, and defensive midfielder Casemiro not performing as well as he did last season, the defense is shaky. An overhaul of the defense and a resurgence of Kasemir are essential for United’s rebound.온라인카지노
Things aren’t looking good for Brentford, either. They have one win, four draws, and one loss in seven games, with their only league win coming against Fulham. They’re also scoring fewer goals than last season, and while scoring from set pieces was their weapon last season, it’s not this year. They’ve conceded almost as many goals as they’ve scored, with 10 for 10, and they’re particularly bad at defending set pieces. Even against Everton, they conceded two goals from set pieces.
They are also weak on the counterattack, as their forward pressing tactics mean that defenders who get up high are slow to get back into position. On average, the team scores a goal per game, but they struggle to accumulate points as they are unable to maintain the momentum after scoring the first goal and fail to defend the victory. Add to that the fact that key striker Ivan Toney is suspended and out of action, and seven players have been sidelined with injuries, and rotation is not easy.
Only two points separate the two teams. If United dropped three points to Brentford, they would move up the table. The recent head-to-head record favors United with three wins, one draw, and one loss, but on current form, victory is far from assured. With things not looking good for both teams, can the Red Devils overcome the crisis and bounce back?