'A night of fine margins awaits'
[Getty Images] When Brentford host Manchester United on Monday, something needs to give as a water-tight home side take on visitors who know where the net is. The Bees are on a five-game run of league draws and you have to go back to 2009 and the seven straight draws achieved by Manchester City to find a side with a longer run of draws. Keith Andrews' side don't look in the mood to give much away and fans have not seen their side trail for a single minute of the six matches that have followed their February defeat against Brighton.
There's a doggedness on offer. So how do Manchester United pierce this resistance? Buoyed by a fine win at Stamford Bridge, Michael Carrick's side can draw on confidence.
They also know they have scored in 21 Premier League games in a row since defeat to Everton in November. That's their longest scoring run since Sir Alex Ferguson retired. Bruno Fernandes will be keener than most to break the Brentford resistance as he looks to move on from 18 Premier League assists this season and nearer to the three men who have bettered that figure in the past - Thierry Henry in 2002-03 for Arsenal (20), Kevin De Bruyne in 2019-20 for Manchester City (20), and Mesut Ozil in 2015-16 for Arsenal (19).
A home side that hasn't trailed in a while meets an away side with plenty of zest. It looks like a night of fine margins awaits.