On Saturday, Manchester United will travel to Brentford in the Premier League in an effort to avenge their opening-weekend loss to Brighton & Hove Albion.
Pascal Gross scored twice for Graham Potter's team in Manchester as the Red Devils fell 2-1 to Brighton in their opening game of the new Premier League season.
Erik ten Hag is under pressure to beat Brentford, who made a strong impression in the Premier League the previous campaign and finished 13th in the standings.
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After a rather upbeat preseason, United entered their opening match with a great deal of optimism.
But it appears that Brighton's wakeup call has put the team into a whirlwind.
Manchester United appear to be jumping from problem to problem due to fan dissatisfaction, uninspiring transfer targets, unstable players, and a manager understanding the ins and outs of the new land.
Meanwhile, Brentford and Leicester played out a dramatic comeback draw.
The Bees will be aiming to inflict more discomfort on the Red Devils with the help of their savvy acquisitions, including Keane Lewis-Potter and Aaron Hickey.
Prior to Brighton's unrest at Old Trafford, Ten Hag's exclusion of Cristiano Ronaldo raised questions about the new manager. Last Saturday, Ten Hag decided that Ronaldo was only well enough to enter the game in the second half after trying in vain to use Christian Eriksen in a false nine role as Anthony Martial sat in the stands.
The French attacker suffered a hamstring injury just before the start of the season, and it has been confirmed by Ten Hag that he will miss the encounter against Brentford too. He added that Victor Lindelöf is not fit either, after he missed the opening weekend fixture through injury too. Both Brandon Williams and Facundo Pellistri are uncertainties as well.
Ten Hag was vague when asked if Ronaldo would start the encounter, but praised his work behind the scenes since the defeat last weekend.
"He (Ronaldo) had a good training week. He has now two half a games, for starting XI [against Brentford] we will see tomorrow. I make my decision and I keep it [to myself]," he told reporters.
According to Frank, the expected recovery times for both Kristoffer Ajer and Sergi Canos of Brentford are "mid-to-late August.”
It's not at all apparent when Ethan Pinnock will be fully recovered from a knee issue he developed while training.
Last season, Brentford was one of the few teams that provided Manchester United with beneficial results, as the Red Devils scored six goals in their two Premier League encounters with the Bees.
Ralf Rangnick was in command throughout those games, but it appears that his replacement is still getting used to the chaos that permeates the team.
While United could face similar problems as last weekend, this fixture seems like it could help Ten Hag get his first ever win as Manchester United manager.
The two sides are due to clash on Saturday evening, with the match kicking off at 17:30 BST.
Topics: Manchester United, Brentford, Premier League, Erik Ten Hag, Cristiano Ronaldo
Aadit Mehta