Manchester United vs Brentford: Battle for Top 3 Position

Manchester United aims to move closer to securing a UEFA Champions League spot for next season, avoiding a third consecutive defeat against Brentford. The Red Devils previously lost 1-3 in the away match in September at Gtech Community Stadium. Here, MU also suffered a 3-4 defeat in the previous encounter in May 2025.

Given that Brighton, currently ranked 6th and trailing MU by 8 points on the standings, is not playing this weekend, manager Michael Carrick and his team have a significant opportunity to widen the gap.

After a 1-2 loss to Leeds United at Old Trafford, Carrick's team regained morale with a 1-0 victory over Chelsea. That win nearly eliminated The Blues from the Champions League qualification race this season.

In the win at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea, Bruno Fernandes recorded his 18th assist in the Premier League this season. This achievement is only surpassed by three legends: Thierry Henry (20 assists in 2002-2003), Kevin De Bruyne (20 assists in 2019-2020), and Mesut Ozil (19 assists in 2015-2016). MU has scored in 21 consecutive Premier League matches, their longest streak since the Alex Ferguson era. The last time they surpassed this milestone was from November 2012 to April 2013 (23 matches).

The Old Trafford side has earned more points (28 points) than any other team in the Premier League in 2026 since Michael Carrick was appointed head coach in January, replacing Ruben Amorim.

Currently ranked 3rd on the table, Carrick's team needs 6 more points to secure a Champions League spot for next season. This represents a remarkable turnaround compared to the Red Devils' previous 15th position under Ruben Amorim.

This round, MU faces considerable pressure due to playing later. Liverpool has tied points with the Red Devils after defeating Crystal Palace. The Old Trafford side currently ranks above them due to scoring more goals. This means manager Michael Carrick and his team must secure a victory against Brentford to ensure their 3rd position on the standings.

Brentford is not an easy opponent to overcome. They currently trail Brighton by only 2 points and have one match pending. Brentford still hopes to secure European qualification for the first time in their history.

Brentford has drawn all of their last 5 matches, a streak only surpassed by Manchester City (7 consecutive draws in 2009). To aim for European qualification next season, Keith Andrews' squad will need to convert their draws into victories.

This will not be a simple task, as Old Trafford has not been a promised land for The Bees, who have lost all four recent visits here. Therefore, another draw in this round would still be considered a success for Brentford.

MU's issue is a rather leaky defense. They have failed to keep a clean sheet in 12 out of the last 16 matches played at Old Trafford. On the other side, Brentford has a decent scoring record away (1.25 goals/match) but also concedes quite a few (1.56 goals/match).

The match between MU and Brentford will take place at 2:00 on April 28.

Expected starting lineups for both teams
MU: Lammens, Dalot, Maguire, Heaven, Shaw, Casemiro, Mainoo, Mbeumo, Fernandes, Cunha, Sesko
Brentford: Kelleher, Kayode, van den Berg, Collins, Lewis-Potter, Yarmoliuk, Jensen, Ouattara, Damsgaard, Schade, Thiago