Tyrone Marshall, Manchester Evening News: United likely to rotate for Brentford clash with Europa League the priority | OneFootball

Manchester Evening News' Tyrone Marshall believes that Ruben Amorim will heavily rotate when Manchester United head to Gtech Community Stadium to face Brentford on Sunday, with that Premier League game sandwiched by their crucial Europa League ties.

The Red Devils travelled to Athletic Bilbao on Thursday, ahead of the return leg against the Spanish side at Old Trafford next week.

And Marshall thinks that United may have their attention elsewhere when they visit west London, with the prospect of winning the European competition and subsequent qualification for next season's Champions League a priority, as they sit 14th in the Premier League.

Manchester United are on course for their lowest finish ever in the division. How would you sum up their season?

Disastrous is pretty much the only way you can sum it up. There is the possibility of the Europa League still, which would be one hell of a saving grace, but from a league point of view and a domestic point of view, it has not been good.

There has been a lack of positivity, the statistics are dreadful - with the number of games they have not scored in, for example - and they have just looked like a poor team.

At this stage of the season, the league table does not lie. I think there is a good chance now they are going to take their eye off the ball in the league and potentially finish even lower than 14th.

Whatever happens in Europe, it cannot take away from the fact that it has been an awful season.

Looking at their fixtures and with their European exploits, there is still a chance that the only one they might win is West Ham at home.

Their performances in the Europa League have been the saving grace; they are unbeaten in 13 following Thursday's 3-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao. How important has that been for maintaining some level of morale at Old Trafford?

It has been absolutely massive. It is incredible that they are still unbeaten in Europe - even that started really slowly and there were a few dodgy games.

But they have got better since then and, in the knockouts, they have been pretty good, to be fair.

They have had the advantage so far of having the second leg at home, which is really, really big for them.

These games suit them a little bit more, given the tempo is not as quick in European games. Real Sociedad and Lyon were not playing at a tempo that every Premier League team plays at; it is just faster in this division and that suits a lot of the players who struggle when the intensity is high.

European football has suited them in a way, but they have played pretty well and there have been positive signs there. The 4-1 win against Real Sociedad was possibly their best performance of the season.

As mad as the ending was against Lyon, in the away leg, when they drew 2-2 and should really have won the game, that was a really professional, competent performance.

In the home leg, for 70 minutes, they were incredibly comfortable at 2-0 up - then all hell broke loose! It has been huge to give them something to play for and to give them a little bit of confidence.

It is massive now for that possibility of getting into the Champions League, though Amorim has made the point that they are probably not ready for that.

In a way, he would quite like to have the free weeks to coach them next year.

It also feels like you are probably talking about a £100 million difference in revenues between actually winning that competition and not - and that is going to be absolutely massive, so I can see why all the eggs are in the Europa League basket.

If they had gone out to Real Sociedad in the last 16 and been 14th in the league, it is hard to imagine quite what the mood would be.

Is it now a case of getting to the end of the season and building from scratch?

I do not think, internally, there are any kind of eyes on Ruben Amorim or pressure on him at all.

It is very much a case that he is going to be judged from the start of next season. He said when he took the job that he asked to come in at the end of the season.

He did not want to come in mid-season, and what has happened is why he did not want to come in mid-season!

He is incredibly dogmatic with playing this system, and he just has not got the players that suit it. He has continued to play it no matter what, and things have fallen apart a little bit.

He tried to change things mid-season, when that is just so difficult to do when there is so little training ground time.

None of this is really on him at the moment, and what is happening in Europe is a big bonus for him.

The issue is how next season starts. I suppose he is getting a free pass, in a way, and the supporters absolutely love him.

He is a brilliant talker and great communicator but, if next season starts badly, there is a chance this season could be revisited and you go from, it is not on him to, actually, was that an issue with him?

In a way, it is adding to the pressure to start well next season. At the moment there is some acceptance within the club that he has been dealt a bad hand, and he is just doing the best he can.

Which United player should Brentford fans keep an eye on at the Gtech?

With the game being between two European legs, I would imagine there is a good chance Brentford fans will not have heard of half of the players!

It just feels like the one game they have to write off as you have got to presume the home leg is going to be the decisive one. I think we will see a lot of changes.

It is pointing out the obvious but, at the moment, this is essentially a one-man team in Bruno Fernandes, but I would be very surprised if he starts that game.

It is a possibility that Amad Diallo might play as he is coming back to fitness now. It might be a case of bringing him off the bench.

He was huge for United before he got injured. Of the kids that play, there is a good chance Chido Obi will play as he is the second striker now Joshua Zirkzee is injured.

He has had a lot of attention up here. He came from Arsenal last summer as a 16-year-old and he has just turned 17.

He has had a few games in the first team and has not ripped up any trees, yet his goalscoring record at youth level was unbelievable for Arsenal and has been really good this season for United.

He is not in the Europa League squad, though, which leaves Rasmus Højlund as the only possible striker in Europe.

If Obi does start, he will certainly be someone to watch because there is a lot of excitement around him.

What should Thomas Frank’s side expect in terms of shape and style?

They should expect 3-4-2-1, as always! Amorim barely ever changes it. It is 3-4-2-1 all the time, wing-backs all the time, with two no.10s playing behind a striker.

Even if he plays 11 kids against Brentford, it is going to be the exact same system, the exact same set-up. It makes them easy to scout, easy for the opposition to know what they are going to play against.

He has played this formation constantly, beyond the first few games of his career. Whatever the personnel is, the system and beliefs will not change.

United came from behind to beat Brentford in October. What’s your score prediction this time around?

Given United are probably going to make changes, I just cannot see them winning, to be honest.

Even if they did not make changes, the way the season has gone for both teams, it is going to be difficult for them anyway.

Given the circumstances, given where this game falls for United, I can see Brentford winning 2-0.

And as long as United get through it without any injuries to key players, I am not sure it would totally bother them.