Brentford v Manchester United Betting Tips [15 December 2021]

Ninth place Brentford host fifth place Manchester United on Tuesday to kick-off matchday 17 of the Premier League. The home side are coming off a thrilling 2-1 come from behind win thanks to a penalty scored in added time. It’s been a productive season for the Bees, back in the English top flight for the first time since 1947, they currently sit on 20 points with five wins, five draws and six defeats. Brentford are in a pretty good run of form, they have only lost one of their last five matches and have recorded two straight home victories. The visitors are also going through their own purple patch and currently sit on 27 points, level with fourth place West Ham. United have made it six straight without defeat across all competitions, winning four of those matches. Brentford have the bonus of an extra day of rest, having played on Friday, and will be playing their second consecutive home match. This will be United’s second straight away match and also their sixth match in 17 days, compared to Brentford’s fourth.

Striker Ivan Toney is a big miss for the hosts as he had to sit out the last two matches as well as this one due to a positive COVID test. He is a big part of what Brentford do but Thomas Franke’s side is playing well enough at the moment that they should be able to cope with his absence. Manchester United still appear to be adapting to interim manager Ralf Rangnick’s system, the team came out flat against Norwich and never looked particularly comfortable at Carrow Road. They managed to squeak by with a 1-0 win thanks to a Ronaldo penalty and a man of the match performance from goalkeeper David De Gea.