Indeed it does. Man Utd are given the tough task upon getting back to action as Thomas Frank's Bees visit Old Trafford.
While it is great to have club football back, when you support United nowadays, you don't know whether that's a good thing or not.
Probably not.
But Erik ten Hag managed to survive (for now) and took some respite after going on holiday to the Netherlands after the Villa draw. He most definitely needed it and hopefully he can come back and turn things around.
Beginning with Brentford though, he and United will be asked some difficult questions. If he can't handle it, those 'ten Hag out' stuff will return sooner than he would've liked.
We are in desperate need of a win.
Predicted Lineup
Things haven't gotten any easier for ten Hag over the international break as his team has picked up more injuries.
Mainoo and Ugarte became the latest players to be added to the list of absentees. There were doubts over the likes of Mazraoui, Garnacho and Amad but they should be ready, thank goodness 🙌.
I've gone for the same back five as we've become accustomed to this season. With Mazraoui being available again, it would mean no Jonny Evans at LB which was something that was predicted to happen had the Moroccan been unavailable.
Along with Mainoo and Ugarte, Mount is also a player who is sidelined as he (and Shaw) are making 'steady progress'. So they should return,
next season.
Without those three midfielders, it will mean we will see the original (midfield) trilogy under ten Hag: Casemiro, Eriksen and Bruno.
We will need them to play like they did two seasons ago as we have been poor in midfield.
With Garnacho being ready, I've gone for him on the right, Rashford on the left and Hojlund as striker.
United's Approach
It's very difficult to predict what you're going to get with United. I feel like United themselves don't know what to expect from them.
But considering how Brentford play, I think we can get some idea of how ten Hag's team will approach this one.
As the Bees like to give up a lot of possession and sit deep, we will have more of the ball and be on the edge of their box.
Breaking that defence down though, will be the problem as that is our kryptonite.
I actually feel a player like Zirkzee could come in handy for this game because of that low block. His false 9-ness has been a breath of fresh air for us this season and could be something that unlocks a stubborn defence.
Zirkzee's confidence is quite low though, so I don't think he will feature. This would also mean having to drop Bruno as Zirkzee would be best suited as the number 10. That is never going to happen.
Speaking of the captain, we will need him and all our other attackers, to be a lot more patient with the ball. We cannot be trying too many Hollywood stuff and give up possession cheaply. It has been a criticism of the skipper's as he has been very frustrating.
Patience, rotation of the ball and not getting frustrated will be the aim of the game for us.
Selfishness should not be part of our style as that will play into Brentford's hands. I think this is the cause of a lack of goals as we don't create enough for the striker. Rashford and Garnacho are the most selfish down the wings and should they start, that could be a problem for us.
And of course, putting the ball in the back of the net. We've only scored 5 this season which is only worsted by Southampton. Not scoring has been one of our major deficiencies this season as we have missed a lot of big chances. However, that in recent games has gone down as we are no longer at the top of that chart.
That in itself is a problem because at least we were creating the opportunities. Now we aren't even doing that.
We also have to be very careful of the counter as one of Brentford's strengths is hitting on the break. With very little legs in the midfield with Casemiro and Eriksen, that could be a problem for us.
Stupid free-kicks shouldn't be given away as well as that is exactly what Frank's side will be looking for. United are pretty poor at defending set-plays, corners and standard crosses so if we allow the opponent several of those, we will be asking for it.
United's Form
We are 14th in the table with just two wins, two draws and three losses giving us a total of 8 points, our lowest-ever at this point in a season.
Our goal difference of -3 is embarrassing and only scoring 5 is even worse. We've also only won one of our three home games which was the opening match against Fulham 1-0.
The other two were the 3-0 defeats to Liverpool and Spurs.
Old Trafford is quite the happy hunting ground for oppositions.
Brentford
The Bees are truly buzzing.
Despite losing Ivan Toney, Thomas Frank - a manager who is a candidate to replace Erik ten Hag should he be sacked - has gotten his side playing some entertaining football. Not a word that one associates with Brentford.
Frank's side are doing relatively well this season as they sit 11th in the table having won three, drawn one and lost three although those three defeats were at Spurs, Liverpool and City.
Brentford's 13 scored is the same as Liverpool's but having conceded the same amount, that ranks them as one the team's with the most goals let in. They've also not kept a clean sheet this season whereas United have 4, the most in the league.
We know what the Bees are all about as their style is one more traditional when it comes to English football: sit deep and hit on the break, look for set-pieces and put a lot of balls in the box.
With no recognized left-back, Frank will definitely be targeting that area of United's. Whenever possible, he will also want his team to put a lot of crosses into the box. MUFC are terrible when it comes to defending these. I wouldn't be surprised if we conceded from a cross.
Brentford also use counter-attacks to get them goals. With the speed of Mbeumo and Wissa, that is another area where they will be looking to get at United especially if we play with a high line.
Mbeumo is also the seond-highest scorer in the league with 6. Only the robot Haaland on 10 has more.
Brentford have also done something remarkable this season as they have scored a goal in the first 2 minutes in each of their last four games!
Given how slowly we start and Brentford's ability to score early on, it shouldn't come as a surprise if they got a goal in the first couple of minutes.
That first goal could be all important in this game.
Recent Meetings
Since coming to the Premier League in 21/22, Brentford have only managed to beat us once although it was THAT 4-0 thumping in Erik ten Hag's second official game as MUFC boss.
The last time the two met at the Gtech Community Stadium, it somehow ended 1-1. Two late goals by both sides gave each a point but how Brentford didn't score 4 or 5 is a mystery.
Other than that, United did win the other four matches. This fixture last season though, saw a lot of drama as substitute Scott McTominay came on to save United's blushes as he scored 2 late goals to get us a famous comeback win after Brentford had taken the lead in the first half.
However, there will be no Scotty coming to save us this time.
Prediction
I feel that as we are low on confidence, the Bees are buzzing and everyone expects us to perform poorly, I believe it will be a 2-1 win,
to Yanited.
Yes, simply because it seems that everything and everyone is against us, I believe we will get the much needed 3 points.
Whenever Erik ten Hag's arse has been on the line, he manages to get a result. I think that that will happen this time round as well.
I'm not predicting a pretty game but one where we get the win which at this point, is probably what matters most.
Background Image of player: Bruno Fernandes in Man Utd training | Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)