Brighton vs Manchester United: Preview and Prediction
Looking to avenge their defeat in the FA Cup semi-final, Brighton & Hove Albion will host Manchester United at the Amex Stadium on Thursday in the Premier League.
Roberto De Zerbi’s side come into this fixture after hammering Wolverhampton Wanderers 6-0 whereas in their previous outing, Erik Ten Hag’s side secured a 1-0 win over fellow European hopefuls Aston Villa.
The Seagulls had a mixed start to April with a 3-3 draw against Brentford and a 2-1 defeat to Tottenham but they also secured a 2-0 win over Bournemouth.
A 2-1 win against Chelsea was followed by a painful 7-6 penalty shoot-out defeat to United in the FA Cup which was followed by another disappointing 3-1 defeat to relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest but De Zerbi got the perfect response from his players at the weekend as they put Wolves to the sword courtesy of two goals each from Danny Welbeck, Deniz Undav, and Pascal Gross winning by a margin of 6-0.
On the other hand, Ten Hag’s side has been pretty consistent barring a few hiccups. They suffered a 2-0 defeat to Newcastle earlier in April, and apart from that they only slipped to a 3-0 defeat to Sevilla in the UEFA Europa League quarter-final second leg, winning all of their remaining games, except a 2-2 entertaining draw with Spurs last week.
With both sides looking to finish to season strongly to boost achieve their objectives from the ongoing season, and given their most recent battle in the FA Cup, expect another closely contested affair.
Current Form
United are currently fourth in the Premier League standings with 63 points from 32 games. The Reds have experienced an upturn in fortunes under their new Dutch coach and remain in contention for a top-four finish, although Liverpool are breathing down their next.
Having won four of their previous five outings in the league, the Old Trafford-based outfit will hope to return back from the Amex with all three points in the bag.
However, it won’t be so straightforward because De Zerbi’s side has been a hard nut to crack. With 52 points from 31 matches, the Seagulls have a game in hand over the Red Devils, and at least a couple more over the likes of Spurs, Liverpool, and Aston Villa.
A consistent run of results, starting with a victory over United would put them firmly in contention for European competitions, as they currently occupy eighth place in the Premier League standings.
Thus, United are chasing a place in the Champions League and Brighton can well consider themselves in contention for a Europa League spot. Still, they will have to churn out some big results starting with the high-octane clash in their own backyard on Thursday.
Head to Head Record
The two teams have squared off on 22 occasions to date across all competitions and while Brighton has claimed 5 wins, three games ended all square, whereas the Red Devils have amassed 14 wins.
Their most recent outing ended 0-0 in the FA Cup, 7-6 in favor of Ten Hag’s side on penalties, while the reverse fixture at Old Trafford earlier this season was won by the Seagulls by 2-1 in the season opener for both teams.
Team News
Manchester United skipper Bruno Fernandes has been leading his side from the front
Both sides have plenty of big names missing although the Seagulls do have the added advantage of having an extra day’s rest having played on Saturday.
Jakub Moder (knee), Tariq Lamptey (knee), Jeremy Sarmiento (ankle), and Adam Lallana (thigh) are all expected to miss the Premier League game, while Evan Ferguson is also likely to miss the game through his ankle injury. Joel Veltman also limped off after 65 minutes against Wolves and if he doesn’t recover in time, Gross may feature at right back against United.
Kaoru Mitoma, Alexis Mac Allister, Moises Caicedo, and Levi Colwill were all relegated to the bench and will hope to return to the playing XI and give De Zerbi a few selection headaches.
The Red Devils won’t be able to count on the likes of Donny van de Beek (knee), Alejandro Garnacho (ankle), Tom Heaton (ankle), Phil Jones (knee), Raphael Varane (ankle), and Lisandro Martinez (foot) due to their injury concerns, while Scott McTominay remains doubtful.
Harry Maguire’s erratic form means the duo of Luke Shaw and Victor Lindelof are likely to keep their place in the heart of the defence, whereas Aaron Wan-Bissaka might be favored by Ten Hag instead of Diogo Dalot to keep Mitoma at bay. Jadon Sancho continues to blow hot and cold so Antony might get a chance to shine at the Amex.
Predicted Starting XIs
Brighton (4-2-3-1): Jason Steele, Pascal Gross, Levi Colwill, Lewis Dunk, Pervis Estupinan, Moises Caicedo, Alexis Mac Allister; Solly March, Julio Enciso, Koaru Mitoma; Danny Welbeck
Manchester United (4-3-3): David De Gea, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Victor Lindelof, Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia, Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Marcel Sabitzer, Bruno Fernandes, Antony, Marcus Rashford
Prediction
The Red Devils were defeated 4-0 last year when they visited the Amex, the Seagulls also won in August and considering the most recent tightly contested battle in the FA Cup, another nail-biting encounter is likely to be on the cards between these two sides with a 1-1 draw the most likely outcome.