Game Week 34 Predictions: United to beat Brentford at Old Trafford

Bryan Mbeumo will love to have a say about proceedings when he faces his former club at Old Trafford on Monday. Can Brentford do a double ov...

Bryan Mbeumo will love to have a say about proceedings when he faces his former club at Old Trafford on Monday. Can Brentford do a double over United? (Photo credit: Sky Sports)

 Manchester United vs Brentford

Old Trafford Stadium

8:00pm

It's crunch time for Manchester United. The Red Devils are not under lots of pressure, with Chelsea and Aston Villa floundering behind them.

If there's a surprise team this season that you must be wary of, it's Brentford. A team that was cherry-picked last summer—they lost their two major goal outlets in Bryan Mbeumo to Manchester United and Yoan Wissa to Newcastle, while their manager was snapped up by Tottenham.

It's amazing to see Brentford doing great things on the log. The Bees are in a good place to qualify for Europe and would be 6th on the log if they beat Manchester United at Old Trafford on Monday. The Bees will only be seven points behind their hosts if that happens.

With Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa still in the Europa League, you have a sense of inevitability for the 6th spot, as a triumph for Villa could mean that 6th spot would be enough for Champions League football, provided Villa finishes within the top 6.

Manchester United should be doing more than they're currently doing. For a team that is playing only 40 games this season, you expect them to be in the title conversation, but the best they can get as things stand is third place.

What has worked well for Brentford this season? Lots of people have put their success so far on set pieces, but they're one of the best teams out of possession in the league; Brentford is always accountable in possession and disciplined through and through.

How can Brentford hurt Manchester United? Set pieces will be the obvious option, but long balls can also hurt United. Igor Thiago will be immense for Brentford with his hold-up play; the hosts must be wary of him.

United will still be without Leny Yoro and Lisandro Martinez. The latter is still serving his ban for pulling Dominic Calvert-Lewin's hair in Leeds' 2-1 win over United, while Yoro is still suffering from the knock that kept him out of the win at Chelsea.

United will be the favorite for this one, but they cannot be complacent. Brentford hammered the Red Devils in the reverse fixture, with Igor Thiago running riot. Bruno Fernandes will remember that one after his missed penalty helped Brentford see out the game.

Mbeumo faces his old club once again; he hopes to have a better day than he had in the reverse fixture. Mattheus Cunha has been impressive recently, and with Bruno Fernandes eyeing the assist record, expect Manchester United to fire on all cylinders on Monday.

Defensively, Brentford is solid and will test the Red Devils. Offensively, the Red Devils will look to play through the middle with Bruno Fernandes at the heart of things. Expect an end-to-end game.

A win for United puts the club in the best spot for Champions League qualification. A win for Brentford put the Bees in a good place to challenge for a spot in Europe's elite club football. The motivation is right; we should have a blockbuster game.

Verdict: Both teams to score.