Match Preview: Manchester United v Brentford

Long regarded as one of the most creative players in the English game, Fernandes’ numbers this season reflect both his quality and the level of risk he plays with in the final third - an area Brentford will look to crowd and disrupt.

To put his output into perspective, he has played nearly 50 more key passes than any other player - a staggering margin at elite level.

Fernandes has completed 109 key passes in total this season, well clear of his nearest rivals Declan Rice and Dominik Szoboszlai (61 apiece).

Bees head coach Keith Andrews will no doubt have plans in place to limit Fernandes' influence, and the data suggests Brentford should start by limiting his impact from dead-ball situations. Only Arsenal (19) have scored more Premier League goals from set-pieces than Manchester United (16) in 2025/26, and Fernandes has laid on more goals via corners (4) and free-kicks (4) than any player in the division.

In this regard, it is paramount that the Bees pay special attention to Fernandes' telepathic understanding with Casemiro. The former Real Madrid man has made his name as a defensive midfielder, but seven of his eight Premier League goals this season have come from set-pieces - with Fernandes assisting all but one of those.

United registered just 44 league goals last season - their worst return since their 1973/74 relegation campaign in the old First Division - but they already have 58 this term following the summer arrivals of former Bee Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Šeško and Matheus Cunha.

While no one in their ranks has yet to hit double figures, the Red Devils now boast an array of attacking threats that make them and Fernandes far more dangerous. United currently lead the top flight for shots on target per 90 (5.7), with their captain supplying the bullets from his advanced midfield role.

Limit set-pieces, chaperone United's expensively assembled forward line, and force Fernandes into more defensive duties. Tick those three boxes, and Brentford will be hopeful of a first win at Old Trafford since 1937.

Scout report

Dan Long, Sky Sports: The 'exquisite' turnaround at United

Ruben Amorim was under the spotlight from the very moment he replaced Erik ten Hag as Manchester United head coach in November 2024.

For much of his tenure, ten Hag had not delivered, so the expectation was that his successor would.

A 15th-place finish in 2024/25 was United’s lowest in the Premier League era, but while Amorim was maligned by many, others gave him the benefit of the doubt, given he had come in midway through the season. The trade-off was that he would have to come up trumps in 2025/26.

That didn’t happen. Amorim’s side lost three of their first six Premier League games, then developed a habit of leaving it late to secure even a point. The writing was already on the wall when they lost to League Two Grimsby Town on penalties in the Carabao Cup in August.

On 5 January, United took the plunge and dismissed Amorim. They released a 106-word statement confirming their decision, which said it was made “reluctantly.” It continued: “This will give the team the best opportunity of the highest possible Premier League finish.”

Under-18s head coach Darren Fletcher stepped up in the interim and oversaw a 2-2 draw with Burnley in the Premier League and an FA Cup third-round exit at the hands of Brighton. On 13 January, club legend Michael Carrick was appointed head coach on a deal running to the end of the season.

“I know what it takes to succeed here,” he said. “There is still a lot to fight for this season. We are ready to pull everyone together and give the fans the performances their loyal support deserves.”

As it has turned out, Carrick was not just paying the fans lip service. He is a man of his word. The turnaround has been exquisite.

United were seventh the day he returned to Old Trafford; now they sit third after eight wins in their last 12, two of which came against title-chasing Man City and Arsenal. Opta Analyst’s data suggests the battle between themselves and Aston Villa for third is on a knife-edge.

Third would represent their highest finish since 2022/23, when were under ten Hag. That would be most welcomed with open arms, but securing Champions League football is imperative and that is almost nailed on now.

On the face of it, the appointment of Carrick - sacked by Middlesbrough last summer - was not an exciting one, yet it was the one Manchester United needed and the one that has renewed belief that had seemingly gone missing under Amorim.

If the club’s board decide to keep him on beyond this summer, it already looks as though that would be a wise choice.

In the Dugout

Michael Carrick

Michael Carrick left his native north east to join West Ham as a teenager and progressed to the first team under Harry Redknapp in the 1999/2000 season. He was a regular in the Hammers’ midfield over the next four years, the last of which came in the First Division, but in the summer of 2004, he made the return to the Premier League he wanted with Tottenham.

After two seasons at Spurs, Carrick joined Manchester United for an initial fee of £14 million. As a player, he did not turn out for another club again.

Over the next 12 seasons, he became a legend at Old Trafford. He played 464 times in all competitions, winning the Premier League on five occasions, the League Cup three times, the FA Cup, the Champions League, the Europa League, the Club World Cup and six Community Shields.

Carrick retired at the end of the 2017/18 season aged 36, but remained on the club’s coaching staff and worked with both José Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjær. When the latter departed, he took charge of the first team as caretaker, winning two and drawing one of his three games in charge. He left the club shortly afterwards, before taking the head coach role at Middlesbrough in October 2022.

Having failed to take Boro up from the Championship in three seasons, Carrick was dismissed in June last year, but he returned to football in January to take over as United head coach until the end of the season following the sacking of Ruben Amorim.

The Gameplan

With Steven Railston, Manchester Evening News

Manchester Evening News reporter Steven Railston explains how Michael Carrick's side are likely to line up on Monday evening.

"It is completely different now, and that is why Carrick is doing so well," Railston told brentfordfc.com.

"The first thing he changed was the formation. Amorim was wedded to 3-4-3 and it did not work out, so Carrick changed the shape.

"He also integrated Kobbie Mainoo back into the team. Down at the Gtech earlier in the season, he was introduced around the 65-minute mark and received a huge cheer from the away section, which felt like a pointed dig at Amorim and his handling of Mainoo, who was close to leaving the club when he was in charge.

"He is now back in the England squad and has been pivotal in that three-man midfield of Mainoo, Fernandes and Casemiro, which feels a lot more balanced now. It is criminal that Amorim could not find a way to fit them into the system.

"Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha are on either flank, and Benjamin Šeško – one of the most in-form strikers in 2026 - is the striker."

Last starting XI v Chelsea in the Premier League (4-2-3-1): Lammens; Dalot, Mazraoui, Heaven, Shaw; Casemiro, Mainoo; Mbeumo, Fernandes, Cunha, Šeško

Match Officials

Kavanagh given Old Trafford appointment

Referee: Chris Kavanagh

Assistants: Dan Cook and Ian Hussin

Fourth official: Thomas Bramall

VAR: James Bell

Chris Kavanagh will referee Brentford for the second time this season when he takes charge of Monday night's game at Old Trafford.

The Greater Manchester-born official was the man in the middle for one of the club's most famous days, the 2-0 victory over Swansea City at Wembley Stadium in the 2020/21 Championship play-off final.

He last had the whistle for a Bees game when they faced Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex in November.

Last meeting

Brentford 3 Manchester United 1, (Premier League, 27 September 2025)

Igor Thiago netted a brace and Caoimhín Kelleher saved a Bruno Fernandes penalty as Brentford made it back-to-back wins against Manchester United for the first time since 1938.

After being put in behind the Red Devils’ defence by a fantastic Jordan Henderson pass, Thiago lashed in a left-footed half-volley to put the Bees in front.

Sepp van den Berg and Nathan Collins both saw headers saved before Thiago poked home his second on the rebound from Kevin Schade’s initial effort.

Benjamin Šeško pulled one back for the visitors shortly afterwards and Kelleher denied Fernandes what would have been a leveller from the spot with just under 15 minutes remaining.

Mathias Jensen finished off an electric counter attack with an emphatic finish from distance to make sure of the victory in stoppage-time.