Man Utd team news: Predicted XI vs Brentford as Erik ten Hag may make drastic changes
Man Utd team news: When Manchester United travels to Brentford on Saturday, Erik ten Hag will have to make a decision regarding whether or not to keep the same team that underperformed so horribly the previous week.
The Red Devils’ performance against Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday was extremely disappointing, as they were defeated by a score of 2-1 and were unable to generate a sufficient number of scoring opportunities during the match.
In particular, he has a significant decision to make up front, where Cristiano Ronaldo is anticipated to be fit to start. Ten Hag did not have this option available to him when they played Brighton.
After participating in the summer warm-up games for only 45 minutes, the star player for Portugal has another week of training under his belt, and he should have restored his previous level of fitness by this point.
The week before, Manchester United began the game with Christan Eriksen playing in the false nine positions, but during the game, they made a substitution that moved Eriksen into the midfield and reinserted Cristiano Ronaldo into the striker position.
But the question is, would he want to start with the same system on Saturday in West London?
The selection of Ten Hag’s team
In goal, David de Gea will almost probably start, despite having a less-than-stellar performance in the first game of the season.
After not playing at all against Brighton and not being seen in training this week, there are concerns that Victor Lindelof will not be available. This comes after he did not play at all against Brighton.
It is anticipated that Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez will continue to start for the team, while Raphael Varane is also a potential replacement.
Another player who is likely to feature at right-back is Diogo Dalot, although, on the other wing, Ten Hag may be tempted to give Tyrell Malacia his first start of the season after an excellent pre-season performance.
Last Saturday, Luke Shaw was one of several red players that participated in the game at Old Trafford but did not play very well.
In the middle of the field, we anticipate that Eriken will play with Fred in the central position, which would indicate that Scott McTominay might be relegated to the bench. After both of them turned in subpar performances against Brighton, the latter midfield pairing was the first pair of players to be taken off the field and substituted.
Although Christian Eriksen and Donny van de Beek are also possibilities, Bruno Fernandes should take on the role of an offensive midfielder for the team.
In the more forward areas, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford are set to start out wide. However, Ten Hag could choose to start Anthony Elanga, who scored at the Brentford Community Stadium during the previous season.
Even if there are a lot of people who believe Ronaldo is a liability for the squad and deliberately holds them back, Manchester United are going to have to play the 37-year-old in the capital city since they don’t have many other options.
Because of this, Anthony Martial is not anticipated to participate due to a hamstring injury, the same injury that caused him to miss the first game of the season. The Frenchman has not been seen in training this week, therefore his availability for Saturday’s match against Liverpool, which comes after the team’s trip to Brentford, is currently in serious doubt.
With Ronaldo in the lineup, one problem should be resolved; however, if the Red Devils generate as few opportunities against the Bees as they did at Old Trafford the week before, they will require the predatory instincts of the striker in order to reach the back of the net.