Despite only being at the beginning of the season, the battle between Manchester United and Binford has undoubtedly quietly evolved into a battle of life and death for the Red Devils this season.
After being beaten by Galatasaray in the Europa League in midweek, Manchester United have now suffered six defeats in the first ten rounds of the season, which is intolerable for a big club of this size. A win was imperative for United in this weekend's match, especially for manager Tannhäuser, and it was a career-defining match. However, United's three consecutive defeats at Old Trafford have undoubtedly put them under immense psychological pressure.
There is a lot of turmoil in the team, although I have watched a number of United's matches this season, and overall, they have not been bad, being able to control the ball and even take the lead or score a goal in a game, but often a good game collapses in an instant due to a cheap mistake by goalkeeper Onana, or a reckless shoveling by a defender. This fear of failure forces the players to keep making mistakes.
The midfield problems I've mentioned many times this season remain unresolved, and the most pressing issue at the moment is the porous nature of the defense. Three of the four main defenders are recovering from injuries, forcing Suffern Rock Labott to play as a guest lock, and players playing in unfamiliar positions are naturally not able to fully utilize their own style of play, which in turn triggers a chain reaction.
Binford are a team that are good at pressing forward and I think they can take advantage of United's inconsistency at the back and cause them problems.
Although Binford are in a similar form to Manchester United, having failed to win five league games in a row and only one win in seven so far, we know that Binford will play in their usual fighting style regardless. However, they have drawn four times in seven league games, showing that they are not making the most of their chances to win games, which may have something to do with the suspension of striker mainstay Ayewdoni. They lack key players up front and I think that will be the biggest difference between the two sides in this game.
