Manchester United's injury crisis surprises Jonny Evans' role and Kobbie Mainoo's absence for Brentford

With Erik ten Hag on the brink at Manchester United, he now faces a perfect storm at Old Trafford on Saturday.

The Dutchman is in a streak of five games without winning and is top of the betting odds as the next Premier League manager to lose his job.

Having survived the international break following a 0-0 draw against Villa AstonTen Hag might have wanted to reboot, but instead things could get even worse.

United are likely to be without five defenders over the weekend, with Noussair Mazraoui joining those sidelined who required cardiac treatment for palpitations.

That means it joins Luke ShawTyrell Malacia and Leny Yoro as absent, with Harry Maguire It is also expected that he will not be available for selection.

Ten Hag will have just five defenders to choose from, and none of them are left-backs, meaning Diogo Dalot might have to fill in on the left again.

However, that would mean that the Portuguese would vacate his position as the only available right-back, complicating things even further.

Ten Hag may be forced to leave Dalot in his natural position and move Lisandro Martínez to left back, or even Johnny Evans.

Evans was man of the match last time out against Villa, and even at the age of 36, moving him to the side may be preferable to moving Martinez out of central defense.

Other options could be a defense of three or the selection of Victor Lindelofbut Ten Hag has proven resistant to either tactic.

Later things also get complicated. Two of the first names in the squad, Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie MainooBoth had to withdraw from the national team and are doubts for the game. The many times criticized casemiro He may have to return and Amad Diallo is likely to have another way out.

If all this doesn't seem difficult enough, we haven't even mentioned the opposition yet.

3

Brentford will travel to Manchester on a high after another ridiculously early goal against Wolves last time out, their fourth in the first two minutes of a game in their last four Premier League games.

Nathan Collins was the goalscorer on this occasion as the Bees claimed a crushing 5-3 win over Wolves and showed again how good they are at catching teams early.

This will be a particular concern for United's shaky defence, and the combination of another winless game and Brentford's quick starts could well spell a big problem for Ten Hag.

The Old Trafford crowd could quickly turn against the Dutchman as Man United fans quickly lose patience.

However, Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos may struggle to find an immediate replacement should he be shown the door.

Two of his main objectivesThomas Tuchel and Gareth Southgate are out of the race.

Tuchel has just accepted the England job, while Southgate has ruled himself out.

It could well be an audition for Brentford manager Frank, who has admirers among the United hierarchy.

The other option could be to install Ruud van Nistelrooy as interim until the end of the season.

There have even been accusations that he is waiting for Ten Hag to fail so he can replace him.

During their recent 0-0 draw at Villa Park, Ten Hag became embroiled in what appeared to be a heated debate with his assistant Van Nistelrooy, who has been touted as a candidate to replace the United manager, should he be sacked.

3

Taking an expert look at the situation, Van Der Kraan has quashed theories claiming the former Manchester United striker is plotting to betray Ten Hag in the hope of landing the top job at Old Trafford.

“When he (Van Nistelrooy) signed in the summer, he was very motivated to go and work for his old club,” Van der Kraan told talkSPORT.

“Mainly because of the love of the club and because he saw the potential of several young players like (Rasmus) Hojlund and (Marcus) Rashford.

“He knows the culture of the club and I think he felt he could add something that Ten Hag could use.

“Erik was much more of a coach (suitable) for the Bundesliga with RB Leipzig, who made him several offers before United finally got him.

“Erik worked in Bayern Munich. He knew the German Bundesliga, he speaks the language and all that wasn't really there for him in England. I had never played there, but Ruud can add that.”

All eyes are on Man United's next match against Brentford before facing Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce in the Europa League.

See all the best free bets and betting offers from talkSPORT and our partners