It\u2019s absolutely absurd, it really is. Bruno swings the corner out and Maguire is totally unmarked, nodding back to what was the near post where Casemiro sneaks in behind the defensive line to again deposit an expert headed finish into the roof. How on earth are United going to replace his output?<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n 10 min United fancy Mbeumo in behind Lewis-Potter, another ball setting him away and he\u2019s got a start on Collins, who gets back at him well, conceding another corner.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.11 EDT<\/p>\n 10 min It\u2019s been a really good start \u2013 there\u2019s proper tempo to the game.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 8 min Bruno\u2019s corner picks out Mauire at the back post, he arches backwards to make it his, butts firmly \u2026 and Kelleher claws away, just, some of the ball over the line but the rest not.<\/p>\n Manchester United’s Harry Maguire heads at goal. Photograph: Jason Cairnduff\/Action Images\/ReutersBut he\u2019s denied by Brentford keeper Caoimhin Kelleher. Photograph: Paul Currie\/ShutterstockShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.15 EDT<\/p>\n 8 min United have stared well and Bruno sweeps out to Mbeumo \u2013 seeing the farthest pass first, as Glenn Hioddle said of David Beckham. The eventuating cross, though, is blocked at source.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 7 min \u201cYes, all joking aside,\u201d retyuns Justin, \u201cif readers haven\u2019t ever heard of Eamon Dunphy\u2019s work, he is a very fine sports journalist, well worth checking out. And no, he\u2019s not my uncle or anything. And neither is Chris Kavanagh, tonight\u2019s ref, btw. Only a Game is a classic fly-on-the-wall account of a season in freefall in mid-1970s Cold Blow Lane.\u201d<\/p>\n It starts so positively too, which is why it\u2019s so heartbreaking as it progresses.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 6 min Now Brentford<\/a> counter and Shaw hauls down Schade on halfway; he\u2019s booked.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 5 min United win another corner, again cleared, but they\u2019ve started well here.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 3 min The corner is cleared to Shaw, who leathers over the top from distance.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.05 EDT<\/p>\n 2 min OH MY DAYS HOW HAS AMAD MISSED THIS?! Mainoo gets on the ball and runs \u2013 United have been poor at putting him where he can do what makes him special, beating men in small spaces with such dexterity you barely believe he\u2019s come out with the ball. He sways inside and away from Damsgaard and, now in the box, feints and dips inside Yarmolyuk then Collins. He might shoot, but instead makes sure by squaring for Amad, who punches towards the far corner \u2026 only for the shot to clip Van den Berg\u2019s heel and fly wide. That\u2019s why you go high when faced with a man on the line.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.07 EDT<\/p>\n 2 min United sweep forward with Bruno and Casemiro moving it quickly, then the ball arrives at Dalot inverting; he swipes into touch.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 1 min For now, at least, it\u2019s Mbeumo on the right and Amad on the left. I\u2019m not sure why, but perhaps it\u2019s because he badly needs a goal, so is in the position that best enables him to seek that.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 1 min Away we go!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Our teams are tunnelled \u2026 and out they come!<\/p>\n Manchester United and Brentford players and the match officials take to the pitch. Photograph: Adam Vaughan\/EPAShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.11 EDT<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019d worry for Keith Andrews\u2019 hair tonight with those ominous-looking storm clouds over Old Trafford,\u201d writes Justin Kavanagh. \u201cThis is hair so great that it gets parodied on Irish TV alongside the bald truth of Liam Brady\u2019s and another guy\u2019s who used to play for Manchester United<\/a> (but mainly Milwall) called Eamon Dunphy.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s a work of art. I actually found a book Dunphy\u2019s, Only A Game, in the school library \u2013 it\u2019s a classic \u2013 and his biography of Matt Busby, A Strange Kind of Glory, is absolutely magnificent.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n I\u2019m really looking forward to seeing how Brentford\u2019s wide players do. They\u2019ve got serious pace on both sides with Outtara and Schade, but also behind them, where Kayode and Lewis-Potter will be thrusting forward. Neither Luke Shaw nor Diogo Dalot are all that, and if both are pinned back, United might struggle defensively and also for width.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cAny idea why the he FA Cup semi was on TNT yesterday?\u201d wonders Dave Estherby. \u201cI give Sky enough money as it is and still miss the Saturday lunchtime game every week, now I have to go the pub for domestic Cup games too? Joke.<\/p>\n On another note, a well-known turf accountant was offering 1500-1 last week on Utd finishing higher than Arsenal; if that ain\u2019t worth a tenner nothing is.<\/p>\n (Not to condone gambling etc\u2026)\u201d<\/p>\n Well they paid for the rights, but yes, it is absolutely the case that, generally speaking, monopolies are bad for consumers, but in the case of televised sport, it means more subscriptions are necessary \u2013 you also need Amazon Prime for Champions League. And it\u2019s particularly egregious in the case of TNT, formerly BT, who used their historic telecoms monopoly to fund their tenders in order to flog broadband.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.46 EDT<\/p>\n So where is the game? United will look to find Bruno Fernandes, who\u2019s recently started pulling wide to feed ball and swing over crosses; a question is whether Mainoo can continue the form he showed at Chelsea, linking play to get his attackers the ball. If his touch volume stays high, he can start controlling play, exactly what United currently lack \u2013 and their front players can score against anyone.<\/p>\n Brentford, meanwhile, will want to flood the middle of the pitch, where Casemiro can\u2019t cover ground, and also look to double-up out wide, putting crosses into the box \u2013 and throws, and corners. For that reason, United will be happy to have Maguire back, but I\u2019d not be surprised if Igor Thiago looks to drag him out to the wings, nor if Shade and Outtara come from out to in, looking to test his pace and get hi facing his own goal.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n This is a pretty big game for Michael Carrick. As we said at the top, his team struggled against Leeds and also lost at Newcastle, despite playing against 10 for a half. Brentford<\/a> will be similarly physical, so it\u2019s up to United to show their manager can combat that kind of opponent.<\/p>\n Manchester United’s interim manager Michael Carrick (right) looks pensive as he high-fives mascot Fred the Red. Photograph: Darren Staples\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.04 EDT<\/p>\n It seems like Benjamin Sesko is now installed as United\u2019s first-choice centre-forward \u2013 though full confirmation will come next weekend, when Liverpool visit Old Trafford, as in previous big games, Carrick has deployed Mbeumo through the middle.<\/p>\n Ultimately, though, the club spent all that money on Sesko because the plan is for him to be a regular, so really, they need to build around him, which means better delivery from wide areas; I wonder if we\u2019ll see whoever plays on the left whip balls for him to the front post, though I also think there\u2019s hay to be made with Mbeumo coming inside to swing those in to the back stick.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s been a difficult second half of the season for Amad who, as a dribbler, offers a threat that no other United player does, and is also an excellent scavenger for possession. But his numbers are nowhere near where they need to be, which is presumably why he was left out at Chelsea.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Either Amad or Bryan Mbeumo will be playing out of position tonight. I\u2019d imagine it\u2019ll be Amad on the right and Mbeumo on the left, as the latter has the pace and power to go on the outside, the former less so.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is in the sky studio, for some reason dressed as Ernst Stavro Blofeld.<\/p>\n Photograph: United Artists\/Allstar As for Brentford<\/a>, Andrews picks the same side for the third match in a row \u2013 partly a facility of those injuries \u2013 but Josh Dasilva is back on the bench after nobbling his knee in February 2024 and missing the entirety of last season. Godspeed, old mate.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n So looking at that United XI, Harry Maguire returns after suspension, replacing Noussair Mazraoui, while Amad Diallo is back in with Cunha out. Otherwise, Patrick Dorgu is back on the bench having jiggered his hamstring at Arsenal in January, while Shea Lacey is rewarded for his excellent age-gpoup performances, included on the bench despite playing yesterday.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Now here\u2019s Keith Andrews, and you\u2019ll be delighted to know his barnet is looking lush. Brentford<\/a> have earned the right to go into this match in a confident manner and though they\u2019ve not earned as many points as he\u2019d like in recent weeks, he\u2019s been fairly happy with the performances; though he\u2019s got injury problems, there\u2019s a special togetherness within the group and he wants them to play with personality.<\/p>\n On Ciaomhin Kelleher, he says he\u2019s known him a long time through Ireland, so when he became available, signing him was a no-brainer \u2013 and he felt it\u2019d be a good move for the player.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Before we go over those, Michael Carrick is talking to Sky, telling them he wanted to get Kobbie Mainoo on to the pitch enjoying himself \u2013 he needed to find himself and against Chelsea, he was excellent \u2013 without giving him too much guidance.<\/p>\n On Ayden Heaven, he says he\u2019s got the talent and did so well in the last game, he\u2019s kept his place.<\/p>\n Otherwise, he\u2019s been asked about what business the club needs to do in the summer and however long he\u2019s there, he\u2019s not taking short-term decisions, he wants the best for the football club. However long it goes on, he\u2019s really enjoying working with the players.<\/p>\n Matheus Cunha hurt his hip flexor at Chelsea and improved during the week but they\u2019re not risking him tonight.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Teams!<\/p>\n Manchester United (4-2-3-1): Lammens; Dalot, Maguire, Heaven, Shaw; Casemiro, Mainoo; Amad, Fernandes, Mbeumo; Sesko. Subs: Bayindir, Dorgu, Malacia, Mazraoui, Yoro, Mount, Ugarte, Lacey, Zirkzee.<\/p>\n Brentford (4-2-3-1): Kelleher; Kayode, Collins, Van Den Berg, Lewis-Potter- Jensen, Yarmoliuk; Schade, Damsgaard, Ouattara; Thiago. Subs: Valdimarsson, Hickey, Pinnock, Dasilva, Nelson, Ajer, Donovan, Furo, Shield.<\/p>\n Referee: Chris Kavangh (Ashton-under-Lyne)<\/p>\n![\"dewsbury-hall\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/415.jpg\")
Photograph: Sky SportsShare<\/a><\/p>\n