Manchester United vs Brentford LIVE: Predicted line-ups and how to follow – Ten Hag still in charge as Red Devils seek much-needed win at Old Trafford

Manchester United will still have Erik ten Hag on the touchline when they return to action against Brentford on Saturday.

Ten Hag was given the final two games before the international break to keep himself in his job at Old Trafford.

And after draws to Porto in the Champions League and Aston Villa in the Premier League, the Dutchman looks set to remain in the role.

It means a win against Brentford is now a must though, with his future still massively under threat as United sit 14th in the table.

The Bees won’t be holding back and could strike the killer blow as they come into this game off the back of a 5-3 win over Wolves.

Man United vs Brentford: Wasting chances

Man United have failed to score in any of their last three games.

They last went four league games without a goal back in April 1989.

Throughout this season as a whole, they have averaged 0.7 goals per game after only scoring five in their first seven.

So what’s going wrong?

Well, it seems like the attacking options in Marcus Rashford, Joshua Zirkzee, Rasmus Hojlund and Alejandro Garnacho aren’t taking their chances along with the rest of the team.

Man United have the worst difference between goals (5) and expected goals (11.1) in the Premier League this campaign.

They have scored around six goals fewer than their xG suggests.

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• Manchester United have won each of their last five home league games against Brentford by an aggregate score of 13-2, with their last such defeat coming in February 1937.
• Having won four of their first six league meetings with Manchester United between 1933 and 1937 (D1 L1), Brentford have won just one of their last 10 against the Red Devils (D2 L7).

Man United vs Brentford: Predicted line-ups

United are going to be without defenders Noussair Mazraoui and Harry Maguire for the visit of Brentford.

Mazraoui is set for a spell on the sidelines after being diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat by club doctors.

Meanwhile, Maguire picked up a nasty knock against Villa and looks likely to miss a few games.

It means Matthijs de Ligt will start at centre-back alongside Lisandro Martinez while Victor Lindelof or Jonny Evans may have to cover at left-back with Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia still out.

Diogo Dalot will move over to the right to replace Mazraoui while Andre Onana will be in goal, of course.

In midfield, Christian Eriksen has hit some form and he is expected to start next to Kobbie Mainoo with Bruno Fernandes in front of them.

Rashford will start while Garnacho is likely to keep Amad Diallo out of the team on the right wing again.

Up front, there’s a toss-up between Hojlund and Zirkzee who have both struggled for consistency this season.

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For Brentford, their injury list remains long.

Yoane Wissa is back training on grass, but this game will come too soon while Rico Henry, Igor Thiago, Gustavo Nunes and Joshua Dasilva all remain sidelined.

Mathias Jensen could be back and he’ll be pushing for a starting spot, although Christian Norgaard and Vitaly Janelt performed well last time out.

Norgaard will likely captain a side that will have Mark Flekken in goal and Sepp van den Berg, Nathan Collins, Ethan Pinnock and Kristoffer Ajer at the back.

Bryan Mbuemo is in great scoring form and is the driving force behind the Bees’ moderate start to the season.

He’ll certainly start while Mikkel Damsgaard will also be in the team.

Keane Lewis-Potter and Kevin Schade have been in from the off regularly this campaign but there could be some changes.

Fabio Carvalho scored off the bench against Wolves and may be rewarded with a starting spot at Old Trafford.

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• Christian Eriksen has been involved in six goals in his last five games in all competitions (3 goals, 3 assists). Indeed, only Alejandro Garnacho (7) has been involved in more goals for Manchester United this season than the Dane.
• Bryan Mbeumo has scored six goals in his seven Premier League games this season, netting in each of his last three appearances. His next goal or assist will see him become the first Brentford player to register 50 Premier League goal involvements (currently 28 goals, 21 assists).

Man United vs Brentford: What has been said?

United’s dressing room was reportedly bugged in their final game before the international break against Villa.

It was said that a prankster snuck into the dressing room at Villa Park and hid the device two days before the goalless draw.

Ten Hag’s team talks for the Premier League clash were recorded by a device that was hidden in an out-of-sight place and the microphone was activated when it was called.

Reacting to the incident, former Premier League striker Carlton Cole said: “That’s the day and age we’re in now. We got to just secure what we have at the moment.

“For a football club, there is confidentiality and not everybody needs to know your business, especially in the dressing room. If they can’t secure that, then it’s going to cause a big, big problem.

“We’re looking at a time where it’s information-based. Everybody wants information. I know this was just a prank, but this could have gone a lot worse. 

“This needs to be looked at by the security and everybody has to take it really seriously.”

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• Brentford have lost all three of their Premier League away games so far this season – they’ve not begun a league campaign with four straight losses on the road since 1961-62, when they lost their first nine in the third tier.
• On average, the ball is in play for 58 minutes and 38 seconds in Brentford’s Premier League games this season, and 58m 34s for Manchester United – only Man City have a higher average so far (62m 49s).

Man United vs Brentford: How to follow

This Premier League clash will take place on Saturday, October 19.

Kick-off at Old Trafford is scheduled for 3pm.

The game will not be broadcast live on TV in the UK.

However, talkSPORT will have you covered with all the goals as they go in on GameDay Live with Adrian Durham.

To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream. 

You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM

talkSPORT.com will also provide you with regular updates on our dedicated Premier League live blog.

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