Why Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro and Harry Maguire are only on the Man United bench vs Brentford

Erik ten Hag has said Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro and Harry Maguire could not start for Manchester United against Brentford as they had not fully trained in preparation for the game.

United's game against Brentford saw Ten Hag named an unchanged side from the 4-3 win over Liverpool in the FA Cup a fortnight ago, with the experienced trio all on the bench despite returning from injuries in the past week. Kobbie Mainoo was passed fit to start despite missing some training sessions in the week due to illness.

Ten Hag spoke to MUTV before the game and said Martinez, Casemiro and Maguire need to find more rhythm before they can start for United.

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He said: "They are back from injuries, they are not fully back in their rhythm, they need game practice and also in training they need to catch up. But we have players as options at the back and in the midfield. In the front, a little bit thin I would say.

On Mainoo, he added: "He's done very well for England and now we have to come back to club football and it's his first experience [of that]. He's a quality player and he gives us something extra, but it's about the team."

United are visiting the Gtech Community Stadium for the first time since a harrowing 4-0 defeat in Ten Hag's second game in charge, back in August 2022.

They go into the game in decent form despite having not played in two weeks since that Liverpool victory due to the March international break.

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