Steven Railston, Manchester United reporter: All eyes on Mbeumo on Brentford return | OneFootball

Bryan Mbeumo has made a "huge difference" to Manchester United this season, said Manchester Evening News reporter Steven Railston, with the former Brentford player making his return to Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday (12.30pm kick-off BST).

The forward left west London to join the Red Devils over the summer for a club-record fee and has scored twice so far this season, and the 26-year-old is one of a few United attackers the Bees will have to keep an eye on this weekend.

Manchester United are 11th in the Premier League table after five games, with two wins and a draw so far. What have you made of their start to the season?

It has been very disappointing; there were high hopes in pre-season and the mood was very good.

Ruben Amorim did not have the start he wanted when he arrived at the club last November: he oversaw the worst season in 51 years and a 15th-place finish.

But, despite that, there were some good signings with Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Šeško coming in. There were hopes it could have been a more experienced striker, but they landed on Šeško in the end.

They made a bad start, but the weekend's result against Chelsea was a spirited response to the Manchester derby defeat.

They really needed that, because the conversation about Amorim's future had started again after that game. Before that, there was the shock defeat against Grimsby in the Carabao Cup second round, which was really poor, and the pressure ramped up on Amorim from then.

But it was really important to get that win over Chelsea at the weekend and United could have been 3-0 or 4-0 up at half-time. The early red card had a huge bearing on the game, but they did not make it easy for themselves because Casemiro got a second yellow before the break.

That is the frustration with United at the moment: they never tend to make it easy for themselves. Amorim said in the press conference after the game, "We always complicate it."

That is what supporters have been thinking as well, watching the games... can they not just see this game out and secure a comfortable win?

There was the news last week that the board are staying patient with Ruben Amorim, but how much more patient can they afford to be?

Well, it is a results-based business and it always felt like this spell, leading up to the October international break, would be huge for his future. He has got off to a good start with a win against Chelsea, then it's Brentford and Sunderland after that, so those are three huge games there for Amorim.

If Brentford were to win this weekend, the conversation would start again and Sunderland would become an even bigger game because there is no denying there is huge pressure on them. Again, that is quite amazing considering all the positivity in pre-season, which was just two months ago now. The results dictate the narrative and the results have not been good enough so far.

This is the first season without European football since 2014/15 and you have to go back to the late 1970s to find the last time they missed a second in a row. It is still so early in the season, of course, but is there a concern that could happen again?

It should be an advantage not having European football because you have got longer to prepare for games and you have that advantage at the weekends. But when they are playing badly, which they have been doing at the start of the season, they have almost turned it into a disadvantage because you just want to get out there and produce a response straight away.

There has to be concerns about not getting into Europe again already, considering the start. It was the worst start in 33 years, and some of the statistics that came out after the defeat to Manchester City are very sobering.

It is probably a little bit too early to look ahead to the end of the season, but that has to be the target; they have to return to European football. As much for their own pride, but for financial reasons and for the sake of the football club as well.

Which player should Brentford be keeping an eye out for on Saturday?

It is pretty obvious that all eyes will be on Mbeumo upon his first return to Brentford. He has made a very good start. He has not scored too many goals, yet - he scored his first against Grimsby and his first Premier League goal against Burnley.

But, away from that, his performances have actually been very good. We all knew from his time down at Brentford what a wonderful football player he was and he has made a huge difference.

Cunha has made a very strong start to the season, too. He has not actually scored yet but, again, there have been some really good performances. He is a creative asset around the box, has an eye for a pass, and has got plenty of flair. We have all seen it over the years with Wolves that he can produce a real moment of magic, if needs be, around the box.

And then Bruno Fernandes as well. For me, he is world-class and the best signing of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era. He just delivers all the time; he is the driving force in the team. He has been playing in a deeper role as the pivot in Amorim’s system, so a bit further back than he is used to, but no matter where he plays, he still has a huge impact and is still able to make a difference.

What should Keith Andrews’ men expect in terms of shape and style?

Well, Amorim is very stubborn and he is continuing with his formation. He joked at his press conference that not even the Pope would consider changing his formation!

So, it is pretty obvious what to expect in terms of shape: a 3-5-2 or 5-3-2, but there are different variations of what people call it.

I would expect United to try and make a fast start to the game. They came out very aggressively against Chelsea and Amorim has discussed that with us reporters - the need for his players to be really aggressive. For the first time this season, we really saw that against Chelsea, in the way that he wants, so I would expect a similar kind of performance against Brentford.

But the truth is, United have not won back-to-back league games yet with Amorim in charge and that is a huge concern. They have to use the Chelsea result to build momentum, but whether they can do it in back-to-back games and actually build on that remains to be seen. They have to sort it out to move up the table.

Brentford have won two of the last three meetings between the teams in west London. What’s your score prediction for this one?

I will go for 2-2. I know there has been a lot of change at Brentford in the summer but, in the games against United, they always give it a good go, especially at the Gtech.

I am expecting a very tough game for United.