Tyrone Marshall, Manchester Evening News: Ten Hag's selection dilemma for 'massive' Brentford clash | OneFootball

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has some selection dilemmas ahead of Brentford's visit to Old Trafford on Saturday, explains Tyrone Marshall, senior football writer at the Manchester Evening News

Who plays at left-back and holding midfield is a conundrum the Red Devils boss has to solve, with former Bees midfielder Christian Eriksen an option to start as a no.6 for the Premier League clash.

Manchester United have had a difficult start to the Premier League season. What have you made of this year so far?

It has not been good - that would be the best way to put it.

They are 14th after seven games, with five goals scored. It is their worst start in the Premier League, and the second-worst was last season, which gives an indication of their direction of travel.

It felt like it actually started off okay; the win against Fulham on the first day was better than what we had seen last year in terms of control.

They lost at Brighton, but it felt like they played alright, especially in the first half, and it did not really feel disastrous at that point. But, since then, the wheels have come off a little bit.

There have been moments of positivity; they were poor for the first 30 minutes at Southampton before they won 3-0 and they were good in the first half at Crystal Palace.

Then again, Palace have started the season poorly and Southampton look pretty naïve.

When United play better teams, they just look second best.

How much pressure is Erik ten Hag under?

A positive for him is that there is a run of fixtures that get a little bit easier, though they have a tricky week with the Brentford game and then West Ham and Fenerbahçe away.

After that, six of the next seven are at Old Trafford and they are all very winnable games in the Premier League, the Carabao Cup and Europe. I guess there is a chance he could build some momentum.

United have won 27 of 63 games since the start of last season, which is a big sample size to take. Yes, there were injuries last season, but it was still pretty poor.

There was a feeling at the start of the international break that he might go, but one of the things working in his favour is the lack of obvious replacements; it does not feel like there is a standout candidate, which is why they are trying to give him time and make sure they have got things in order.

With that in mind, how big do you think the Brentford game is for United?

It is massive for Ten Hag and pretty big for United. We always say an international break is an obvious time to make a managerial change, but that has come and gone now.

If they lose to Brentford, or even fail to beat them, it does pose a risk. Fenerbahçe away is going to be tricky - and then there is the Jośe Mourinho factor there, so he is going to absolutely love it if United fail to beat Brentford ahead of their trip to Turkey.

Ten Hag really needs a result against Brentford to take the pressure off those away games.

This week should not be difficult for United; it only is because they are 14th and have been so poor for a year now.

But, looking at this game, you can easily see Brentford getting a result - and they should have won at Old Trafford last season.

Which player should Brentford fans be keeping an eye out for at the weekend?

One of the wingers, I would say. One of United’s main problems has been the total lack of goals, but it feels like Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford have been the most dangerous players. Rashford is probably the one I would go with.

He has been United’s best attacker this season and he has had two weeks off having not been on international duty.

Neither of the strikers have really got going and it is hard to know who is going to play in defence after the Aston Villa game, when he played Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans at centre-back.

How are United likely to set up at the weekend?

I would think it would be a 4-2-3-1, with Rasmus Højlund, probably their best striker, up front.

Then I would think it would be Garnacho and Rashford, but Ten Hag has rotated a bit on the wings.

Bruno Fernandes is available after winning his red card appeal, so will definitely play, but beyond that, it is a bit of an unknown.

They have not got enough full-backs, with Noussair Mazraoui being out, so whether Diogo Dalot comes back to right-back or stays at left-back, I do not know. It is very much square pegs in round holes in that department at the moment.

The other interesting one, from a selection point of view, is who plays in holding midfield. He has played Christian Eriksen and Kobbie Mainoo there in the last few games and Manuel Ugarte did not get a kick against Porto or Villa having been signed for £50 million in the summer.

What’s your score prediction?

Brentford have been good this season and the worry for United is that if they score again in the first couple of minutes, the mood is going to completely turn. They have made an art form of that!

United have got the quality to win it and it felt like they were better defensively against Villa, so I will go for a repeat of last year’s 2-1 home win, though no result would surprise me, to be honest.