The home side, a newly promoted team, and the away team, a Premier League icon with more top division wins than any other team in the English game. Despite that, only seven spots in the Premier League table separate Brentford and Manchester United.
Can Man United begin to get their season back on track or will Brentford pull off one of their biggest moments of the season? Don’t miss our Brentford vs. Man Utd picks and predictions.
Brentford vs Manchester United match odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
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Brentford vs Manchester United betting tips
Predictions made on 1/18/2022 at 3:00 p.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Brentford vs Manchester United game info
• Location: Brentford Community Stadium, Brentford, England
• Date: Wednesday, January 19, 2022
• Time: 3:00 p.m. ET
• TV: Peacock, DAZN
Brentford vs Manchester United betting preview
Weather
The weather in London on Wednesday will be cold but fortunately not raining, with temperatures expected around 40 degrees when this game kicks off under the lights.
Injuries
Brentford: Mathias Jorgensen CB (Questionable), Frank Onyeka CM (Out), Josh Dasilva CM (Out), David Raya GK (Out), Charlie Goode CB (Out), Julian Jeanvier CB (Out).
Manchester United: Cristiano Ronaldo ST (Questionable), Marcus Rashford FW (Questionable), Aaron Wan-Bissaka RB (Questionable), Eric Bailly CB (Out), Paul Pogba CM (Out).
Brentford vs Manchester United predictions
Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.
Side analysis
It wasn’t supposed to be like this, with Brentford sitting just nine points behind Manchester United in the Premier League. The truth is that it’s been an extraordinary season for both clubs. For Brentford, it’s been their maiden season in the Premier League and they’ve punched well above expectations. From the opening night of the season, when they beat Arsenal 2-0 in front of a packed Brentford Community Stadium, there was a feeling that this could be a special campaign.
It’s been a memorable campaign for Man United, too, but one they’d rather forget. After signing Jadon Sancho, the best young player in the Bundesliga not named Erling Haaland, from Dortmund, Real Madrid’s defensive stalwart Raphael Varane, and Cristiano Ronaldo, there were huge expectations on the season.
Those expectations haven’t been met, with Manchester United not challenging for the Premier League title and being further away from that than they’ve been in years. Frustrations amongst the fanbase saw club legend Ole Gunnar Solskjaer lose his job and so far, the interim replacement, Ralf Rangnick, has failed to bring the good times back to Old Trafford.
Rangnick was an exciting appointment, with the German an inspiration for many of today’s best head coaches and famously one of the footballing minds credited with inventing the high press that we see used by the world’s best teams today. If you’ve watched United’s recent games, you’d be forgiven for not believing that, with his team barely pressing and certainly not as a coherent unit. Something has gone badly wrong, whether that’s Rangnick not getting his methods across or the squad not buying into the philosophy of a manager who’ll be leaving the role at the end of the season.
Despite the quality within the squad, the Manchester United team look disjointed and disorganized at times. Worse still is that they look disinterested. With players of this quality, there is no doubt that they’re hugely underachieving. They’re seventh in the Premier League table and are battling West Ham, Arsenal, and Spurs for the fourth and final Champions League spot. They’re unlikely to get that if something doesn’t change, with those sides looking hugely superior in nearly every aspect of play.
United look set to welcome back Ronaldo to the starting lineup following injury and his presence will help them but it might not be enough. Some experts speculated that United’s lack of pressing was as a result of having to fit the Portuguese star into the team but even when he was missing there was no marked improvement in this.
Whoever United put out, they’ll need to look better than they have in recent weeks. Even against Aston Villa, they ruined a good first half performance by playing poorly in the second half. That can’t continue against Brentford. The Bees might not have the quality that United have in their ranks but their commitment and effort can’t be questioned, and Thomas Frank’s team will put pressure on United across the park and ask questions of Harry Maguire and Varane at the back.
When you look at these two names, you’d say that Manchester United should win this game, but they’ve continually disappointed all year and simply can’t be trusted enough to be worth backing at short prices. Instead, we’ll back the draw at +270, which is a great price considering the stuttering nature of United’s season.
Prediction: Draw (+270)
Over/Under analysis
Across this season, we’ve seen 50% of Brentford home games finish with Over 2.5 goals. Incredibly, 50% of Man United’s away games have also finished with Over 2.5 goals. That explains why sportsbooks have this as a pick’em.
If we can’t look at recent trends to dictate our decisions, then let’s look at recent performances. Brentford’s last three games in the Premier League have featured three or more goals, with their opposition (Liverpool, Southampton, and Aston Villa) scoring eight goals in those games.
They haven’t been that solid at the back and you’d fancy Man United to score one. Likewise, Man United have been shipping goals. Their opponents have scored in their past four Premier League games, a worrying stat given the teams faced were Aston Villa, a toothless Wolves, and relegation strugglers Burnley and Newcastle. With their defense struggling, it’s a fair bet that they’ll also concede.
Take the Over here with a high-scoring draw a real possibility.
Prediction: Over 2.5 (-110)
Best bet
When Ronaldo returned to Old Trafford, many thought the homecoming could see the team win the league. That won’t be happening but it’s probably still been a success with Ronaldo clearly the team’s best player and his performances at a new team far better than those of his old rival, Lionel Messi, who has struggled at PSG.
In 21 games at United this season across all competitions, Ronaldo has scored 14 goals. A record of two goals every three games. That’s still a remarkable rate of scoring and his goals have often been in important moments, with the 36-year-old saving former manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s job on multiple occasions. He’s almost certain to be back in the starting lineup this week and he’s a great bet to score against Brentford, who have struggled to keep clean sheets recently.
Pick: Cristiano Ronaldo anytime goal (-110)
