Manchester United Odds: Will Brentford Turnaround Trigger a Resurgence for the Red Devils?

In sports, a few minutes or a few moments can make all the difference in agony and ecstasy. That was certainly in Saturday’s Premier League match between Manchester United and Brentford, which could very well have both short and long-term ramifications.

In the 24th minute, Mathias Jensen put the Bees ahead, and the scoreline remained that way into the final minutes of the contest. After losing a league fixture to Crystal Palace last weekend and a Champions League match with Galatasaray on Tuesday, United were staring at a third straight home defeat.

But in stoppage time, Scott McTominay, who had only come on in the 87th minute, popped up with two goals to send Brentford, not United, home heartbroken.

United weren’t deterred by having a would-be equalizer by Anthony Martial be ruled out for offside, and they made the most of every bit of the added time. McTominay knotted things up in the 93rd minute when Brentford failed to clear the ball from danger, and the extra time that was tacked on as a result of that equalizer proved to be priceless.

All of a sudden, United went from being on the brink of a fifth league loss in eight matches this season to picking up three valuable points. McTominay’s heroics don’t wash away all of the early struggles, but there’s something for the red half of Manchester to smile about entering the international break.

Will it prove to be a turning point for the Red Devils, or is more misery ahead after they return to action? Many improvements need to be made in all areas, but their upcoming matches point to a potential surge.

Upcoming Matches for Manchester United

• EPL: at Sheffield United (October 21)
• UEFA Champions League: vs FC Copenhagen (October 24)
• EPL: vs Manchester City (October 29)
• EFL Cup: vs Newcastle (November 1)
• EPL: at Fulham (November 4)
• UEFA Champions League: at FC Copenhagen (November 8)
• EPL: vs Luton Town (November 11)

After this month’s international break, United have seven more matches before next month’s international break.

The Manchester derby in three weeks is the toughest game they have coming up, but City have already lost twice away from home in the league this season, and United won this fixture last season.

Other than that match, this represents a favorable stretch for United. Of course, the same could have been said about this past week, but on paper, the opportunity is there to pick up some valuable wins.

Sheffield United, Fulham, and Luton are all in the bottom half of the Premier League table, FC Copenhagen are the weakest team in United’s Champions League group, and Newcastle have just one win in five away matches in all competitions thus far this season.

Manchester United Futures Odds for This Season

Premier League

• Odds to Win the Premier League Title: +8000
• Top Four Finish: +350

UEFA Champions League

• Odds to Win the Champions League: +4000
• Odds to Reach the Champions League Final (via BetUS): +1600
• Top Two Finish in Group A: +150
• To Win Group A: +1600

Domestic Cups

• Odds to Win the EFL Cup: +450
• Odds to Win the FA Cup (via BetUS): +1000

What needs to happen to maximize the stretch ahead? For starters, some good health would help.

Manchester United’s injury list this season might be confused for a CVS receipt, but summer acquisitions Rasmus Hojlund (who scored United’s two goals against Galatasaray), Mason Mount, and Sofyan Amrabat are all now healthy.

It would also help if they can become more at ease at both ends of the pitch.

New goalkeeper Andre Onana had yet another questionable moment against Brentford, as he arguably could have kept Jensen’s effort out but failed to do so.

But it must be remembered that David de Gea struggled early on in Manchester and went on to spend more than a decade at the club before departing this past summer. So, Onana should not be written off at this point at all.

At the other end of the pitch, the sooner that Marcus Rashford can rediscover last season’s form, the better.

Rashford scored 30 goals in all competitions last season, but he has just one goal in ten matches thus far this season. He doesn’t necessarily need to be their main goal threat, but he needs to soon find his scoring boots, wherever they are.

Will Saturday’s dramatic win over Brentford prove to be the catalyst for a run for Manchester United? It may not be. There have been many false dawns for the club in recent years.

But you have to start somewhere, and those final few minutes where they roared back to sting the Bees could very well be that somewhere.