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ERIK TEN HAG admits Manchester United have a mountain to climb after their worst-ever Premier League start.

The under-fire Red Devils boss is still clinging on to his job ahead of Brentford’s visit to Old Trafford, with his side 14th in the table.

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Ten Hag, who has accepted United’s start “is not good enough” following just two wins in seven league games, saw the club’s hierarchy hold a seven-hour London summit during the international break.

The Dutchman said: “We have a mountain to climb. But that is top football and sometimes you have to face challenges — sometimes it goes up, sometimes it goes down.

“But I am sure we will make it a success as we did the last two seasons.

“We are in a direction, underneath I see good things.

“I see good patterns and the good stats confirm we are in a direction but, of course, the ranking is not lying. We are where we are and that is not good enough.”

Ten Hag needs results as United bid to end a run of five games without a win in all competitions.

However, he has bad memories of facing the Bees in the early stages of his Old Trafford career.

The Red Devils were thrashed 4-0 in West London back in 2022 in Ten Hag’s first away game in the Premier League.

FOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALS

That result is Brentford’s only win in their last 11 meetings with this weekend’s opponents, though.

Thomas Frank’s side are also looking for their first points on the road this season.

The Danish coach has so far seen his side lose to Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham in a brutal run of away matches.

Their 10 points from 12 at home have seen Brentford climb to 11th, however, three places above United after seven fixtures this term.

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Johnny Eblen and Fabian Edwards meet Saturday on the main card of PFL: Battle of the Giants at The Mayadeen in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.. Check out this quick breakdown of the matchup from MMA Junkie analyst Dan Tom.

Johnny Eblen vs. Fabian Edwards PFL Super Fights preview

Eblen (15-0) hopes to stay undefeated by defending his Bellator middleweight title for the third time when he rematches Edwards (13-3). The last time these two met, it was competitive until Eblen found the knockout just 21 seconds into the third round. … Since that fight, Eblen won a split decision against 2023 PFL champion Impa Kasanganay this past February. … Edwards rebounded from his title-fight loss with a unanimous decision win over Aaron Jeffery this past March.

Johnny Eblen (15-0) vs. Fabian Edwards (13-3)

Johnny Eblen vs. Fabian Edwards expert pick, prediction

Their first fight, which went down in September of last year, was a very competitive contest that saw Eblen sustain a potentially fight-ending cut before emphatically finishing Edwards in the following frame.

Since then, both fighters have had to dig out hard-fought wins, but I believe that the fighting dynamic between these two has remained the same.

Edwards, for as talented as he is, is not urgent enough when it comes to both striking output and getting his back put to the fence.

For that reason, I have a hard time picking against a tactically flexible fighter like Eblen who will – at least in theory – always have the wrestling option in his back pocket.

The official pick is for Eblen to pitch a shutout on the scorecards with a unanimous decision win.

Johnny Eblen vs. Fabian Edwards odds

The oddsmakers and the public are heavily favoring the sitting champion, listing Eblen (-480) and Edwards (+330) via FanDuel.

Johnny Eblen vs. Fabian Edwards start time, how to watch

As the featured bout, Eblen and Edwards are expected to walk out to the cage at approximately 5:30 p.m. ET. The fight will stream on ESPN+ pay-per-view in the U.S. and DAZN pay-per-view internationally.

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for PFL: Battle of the Giants.

Defending champion Emma Finucane produced a superb display in the women’s individual sprint to claim her second gold at the Track World Championships.

It caps a remarkable year for the 21-year-old sprinter, who was part of the trio that dominated the women’s team sprint and also became the first British woman to win three cycling medals in the same Olympics in Paris in August.

Finucane proved too strong for Dutch rider Hetty van de Wouw, while Japan’s Mina Sato beat Sophie Capewell to take the bronze.

“It’s really hard trying to defend a title and deal with pressure and expectation but I am really proud of the person I have become doing that,” said Finucane, who won her first sprint title in Glasgow last year.

“I really wanted it. Nothing is easy. To come away on top is insane, it is an amazing feeling. In my head I wanted to go to war.

“That is the kind of head space you have to get into sprinting. I’m not a naturally aggressive person but out on the track I am different.”

Finucane’s triumph came as Britain collected five medals on a successful Friday evening in Ballerup.

Josh Charlton and Jess Roberts took silvers in the men’s individual pursuit and women’s omnium, while Dan Bigham and Joe Truman claimed bronze medals.

It’s MMA double header this weekend as both the UFC and PFL are putting on events this Saturday. The biggest (both literally and metaphorically) is PFL Battle of the Giants, featuring the return of Francis Ngannou as he faces Renan Ferreira. That event also features a number of other marquee matchups including Cris Cyborg vs. Larissa Pacheco and Johnny Eblen vs. Fabian Edwards 2, among others. Then the UFC gives fans a wonderful little nightcap with UFC Vegas 99, headlined by a middleweight matchup between Anthony Hernandez and Michel Pereira.

With so much to choose from, let’s dive right into the bets this week.

All odds are courtesy of our friends at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Straight Bets

Larissa Pacheco (-148)

Cyborg vs. Pacheco is arguably the best fight of the entire weekend. Featuring the No. 6 and No.7 ranked women in the MMA Fighting pound-for-pound rankings, it’s a bout that, on paper, should be exceptional. But I’m not convinced.

Cyborg is an all-time great but she’s also pushing 40 years old and hasn’t looked great in years. Her last meaningful win was Julia Budd and that was back in 2020. Since then it’s been a parade of undersized or woefully overmatched opposition. Now to be fair, Pacheco has had the same issue, but the difference between them is Pacheco at least is running roughshod over that opposition.

On top of that, Cyborg has seemed wildly disinterested all week, while this is the biggest fight possible for Pacheco. All this together makes me think the younger champion is in great position to get her hand raised on Saturday.

A.J. McKee (-176)

McKee takes on Paul Hughes in the main card opener of the PFL this weekend in a fight that may very well be the people’s main event. McKee is already a star and Hughes has all the trappings of a future one, he just needs the right wins. Unfortunately for “Big News” this won’t be one of those. McKee is simply too dynamic for the young Irishman, both on the feet and on the floor. I expect Hughes to give a good showing of himself, but this is a bit too much, too soon for Hughes.

Michel Pereira (+114)

Over in the UFC, the main event between “Fluffy” Hernandez and Pereira is an absolute banger. Hernandez is one of the middleweight division’s premier grapplers and Pereira is one of the sport’s premier wild men. Since moving up to 185 though, Pereira has been less wild and more “unstoppable killing machine.” Three fights, three first-round finishes, a combined fight time of three minutes and one second. “Demolidor” has been lethal since he stopped cutting so much weight, and I believe it will continue. Hernandez needs takedowns to win and Pereira stuffs those at a 94 percent rate. “Demolidor” continues to rise up the ranks.

Prop Bets

Asu Almabayev by KO/TKO (+750)

Why not have a little fun, eh?

The prelim main event over in the UFC features Almabayev taking on Matheus Nicolau in a battle of ranked flyweights. Almabayev is one of many new hotshot guys coming in at 125 pounds and why I actually think Nicolau is probably a little undervalued straight up, I like a flyer on this line for one reason: all four of Nicolau’s career losses have come via KO or TKO.

Almabayev is going to get takedowns and when the submission game fails him, then he may pivot to ground-and-pound. I think there’s some life in this big of a line here.

Jean Matsumoto By Points (+100)

Also on the UFC prelims, Matsumoto takes on two-time The Ultimate Fighter winner Brad Katona in a bantamweight matchup that should favor him heavily. Katona wants to wrestle and grind but Matsumoto is a vastly superior athlete and striker. I think he can stuff enough takedowns and win this fight on the feet, and since Katona has never been finished, this is a good price for what is essentially the way Matsumoto can win.

Parlays

Francis Ngannou (-260)

I am, frankly, shocked that the line on Ngannou has dropped this much. Don’t get me wrong, there are reasons to doubt him — he’s been out of MMA almost three years, he was brutally KOed earlier this year, his life has been hectic — but still, the gulf in accomplishment between Ferreira and Ngannou is VAST. Like, Grand Canyon vast.

Ferreira has come along in the PFL but this is also a man who lost to Rizvan Kuniev 18 months ago! That’s the same Kuniev who just went on Contender Series this year. His best win is Ryan Bader, a career light heavyweight! I like Ferreira but the only way he wins this is if Ngannou is totally shot, and I don’t see that.

Francis is faster, hits harder, has the better chin, and is a better striker than Ferreira. It only takes one, but I’ll be pretty surprised if that one lands on Ngannou this Saturday.

Johnny Eblen (-400)

In a similar vein, I’ll be flabbergasted if Fabian Edwards beats Johnny Eblen — because they fought 13 months ago and Eblen demolished him! Yes, Edwards started that fight well, but pretty clearly the moment Eblen decided to really fight, Edwards had nothing for him. I suspect this time Eblen won’t come out so flat and make a statement early over Edwards.

Parlay these two bets together for -212 odds

Wrap Up

Should be a great weekend of fights. Honestly, I’m pretty pumped about the main card of the PFL (the undercard, we don’t need to discuss) and this UFC card is pretty solid for an APEX show. Let’s enjoy it and then it’s on to UFC 308.

Until next week, enjoy the fights, good luck, and gamble responsibly!

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