Manchester United vs Brighton. Prediction and Preview. Probable Lineups, Team News, Stats, and more

Manchester United FC will host Brighton and Hove Albion FC in the English Premier League 5th round match at the Old Trafford Stadium. The fixture will take place on Saturday, September 16, beginning at 19:30 IST.

Parimatch News will tell you everything you need to know ahead of the upcoming match.

Manchester United News & Current Form: 

Manchester United, who went through a lot of turbulence last season, will play in the UEFA Champions League this season, where they got there from the 3rd place in the standings. After 4 rounds of EPL the situation of the team is not good: 11th place, two wins and two defeats, 6 points in the asset.

Erik ten Hag’s team defeated Wolverhampton Wanderers FC (1:0) and Nottingham Forest FC (3:2). Despite the win against the Trees, it was a real nerve-wracking game for MU fans. The opponent scored two goals just five minutes after the starting whistle. 

Сaptain of Manchester United FC – Bruno Fernandes

The team also lost to Tottenham Hotspur FC (0:2) and Arsenal FC (1:3). The defeat in the last round from the Gunners finally confirmed the presence of systemic problems at the Red Devils. It is noteworthy that both victories were recorded at home, but both losses happened away.

It will be extremely difficult for Manchester United to confirm their status as favorites for this pairing due to personnel problems. Erik ten Hag will field a squad without Raphael Varane, Mason Mount, Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia and possibly Lisandro Martinez, who was injured in the national team. Also Bruno Fernandes has been the captain since July, taking over from Harry Maguire. 

Now the Red Devils are having discipline problems that are affecting the personnel situation at the club. MU’s official website has announced the suspension of Jadon Sancho from the main team.

“Jadon Sancho will remain on a personal training programme outside the first team until the discipline issue in the squad is resolved”,

the statement reads.

Ater the last game against Arsenal (2:3), the winger arranged a hit-and-run scandal. Manchester United coach Erik ten Hag said that he did not include Sancho in the application form for the game because of improper work in training.

Jadon decided to respond to the coach on social media. The Englishman stated that it was a lie and he was tired of being a scapegoat. Therefore, the club decided to teach the player a lesson. It is reported that the team was not satisfied with the words of Sancho and sided with the coach.

It should be noted that 23-year-old Sancho is a trainee of Manchester City, but revealed himself in Borussia Dortmund. It was from it that he moved to Manchester United in 2021 for 85 million euros. During his two seasons at MU, Jadon scored 12 goals in 82 games.

So now Manchester United have a serious shortage of wingers for non-football reasons. In the summer, the club said goodbye to Mason Greenwood, who hadn’t played for over a year because of rape allegations against his girlfriend. The English finally acquitted.

And at the beginning of September, a similar situation happened with Antony, who cost MU €95 million in 2022. The ex-girlfriend of the Brazilian accused him of domestic violence, so the club suspended the player for the period of investigation.

Brighton News & Current Form: 

This season will be historic for Brighton, because for the first time in its history the club will play in European cups. It will have to play in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League, where it got to by finishing in 6th place. After four rounds, the team is again in 6th place: three wins and one defeat.

First, the Seagulls took out Luton Town FC 4:1, which for the first time in their history even got into the top division. The same scoreline also saw Wolves, who conceded just one goal to MU. 

Well, and then there were two occasions with the same score of 3:1: in the first case Brighton lost to West Ham United FC, and in the second took the upper hand over Newcastle United FC, who by the way will play in the Champions League. Well, the intermediate result is not bad, but there are more difficult games ahead of them.

Brighton looks great in terms of realization. In four EPL matches, the team has already scored 12 goals against their opponents. It should be noted that the team’s matches are the second most efficient in the current Premier League, with an average of 4.5 goals scored. 

Top scorer of Brighton & Hove Albion FC and Irish national team – Evan Ferguson

The Seagulls are obviously spared from such difficulties as the upcoming opponent and have no critical losses in the squad. Just like last season, the team of Roberto De Zerbi acts as creatively as possible in the final third of the pitch. 

Among the Italian’s charges we should definitely highlight several performers who shone at the start of the season: Evan Ferguson (4 goals), Solomon March (3 goals) and Kaoru Mitoma (1 goal and 3 assists).

Manchester United form guide: W-L-W-L

Brighton form guide: W-W-L-W

Manchester United vs Brighton Head-To-Head Record:

• February 15, 2022: Manchester United 2 – 0 Brighton (Premier League);
• May 7, 2022: Brighton 4 – 0 Manchester United (Premier League);
• August 7, 2022: Manchester United 1 – 2 Brighton (Premier League);
• April 23, 2023: Brighton 0 – 0 Manchester United (FA Cup);
• May 4, 2023: Brighton 1 – 0 Manchester United (Premier League).

Manchester United vs Brighton Predicted XI:

Manchester United’s possible starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Onana; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Martinez, Dalot; Casemiro, Eriksen; Garnacho, Fernandes, Rashford; Hojlund.

Brighton’s possible starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Verbruggen; Milner, Webster, Dunk, Estupinan; Gross, Gilmour; March, Fati, Mitoma, Pedro.

Statistical preview of the match Manchester United vs Brighton:

• MU’s First XI average age is 27.1 years, while Brighton’s First XI average age is 25.9 years.
• The total value of MU’s squad is 882 mln euros, while the value of Brighton’s squad is 376 mln euros.
• Only in 1 of the last 4 matches between Manchester United and Brighton in the EPL have both teams scored goals.
• Manchester United have not lost in their last 20 EPL home matches (17 wins, 3 draws). The last home defeat of the Red Devils came in a game against Brighton in August 2022.
• The average goals total in Brighton matches is 4.5, while in games involving Manchester United it is 3.
• The average total of corners in matches involving the home team is 13.75, while in games involving the visitors it is 12.5 per 90 minutes.
• Manchester United collect an average of 3 Yellow cards per game, while Brighton receive 3.25.
• 8 of Brighton’s last 8 away matches in the EPL have not ended in a draw.
• In 9 of Brighton’s last 10 matches the total of over 2.5 goals was scored.
• Manchester United conceded at least 2 goals in their last 3 matches.
• Roberto De Zerbi’s side have scored in 15 previous away league matches.
• At least 3 goals have been scored in Brighton’s last 7 away matches in the EPL.
• Manchester United have had at least 5 corners in their last 6 head-to-head meetings at home in the EPL.
• No more than 5 yellow cards have been shown in 17 of Manchester United’s last 18 home matches in the EPL.

What has been said before the match:

Gaffer of the Red Devils Erik ten Hag ahead of the Brighton fixture:

“We close the game, we work on the feedback. We give the team the feedback and I think we played very well at Arsenal. We could already see before the game, we trained very well and we played very well. We deserved much more at Arsenal and it was not on our side, and that was also the outcome of our analysts.”

“You see we are progressing against a good Arsenal side, but the minimum we had to get was a draw there. I think we should have won there but we didn’t.”

“We took the performance and also in the last two days, when all the players came back, we trained very well and we are ready to fight Brighton, a very good Brighton. But we are really looking forward to it and we have a good vibe, we are ready for it.”

Manchester United vs Brighton Prediction:

Manchester United are widely considered to be the favourite to win the game. It is hard to agree with this standpoint, given the current chaos in the Red Devils’ camp and the troubles with the line-up. Fans of the Mancunians can hardly envy anyone at the moment – a feeble performances, a vulnurable counter attacking second-fiddle model of play, Anthony’s incident and removal from the squad, followed by a troublesome situation between ten Hag and Sancho and the latter’s suspension from the squad, which makes things really dire for the moment. And these are all players on whom a very big bid was made, which at least reflected on their price tags (£70m+). It is not excluded that apart from Varane, the second main centre-back Martinez will miss the upcoming game. Lindelöf will be paired with either Maguire or veteran Evans. The end of the game against Arsenal showed perfectly what United have to rely on with this pair of defensive players. Annoyingly, if United lose the upcoming game as well, it will be their 2nd worst start to the Premier League era since the 2014/15 season, when the Red Devils picked up just 5 points after 5 rounds under Louis Van Gaal. So they have a big degree of motivation to turn the tide, and the likes of Fernandes, Rashford or newcomers Onana and Højlund, are those who can step up and produce the result.

Brighton, on paper, look much more favourable, continuing to progress under the Italian coach. The results speak for themselves: even despite the departure of some of his players, “Hydra De Zerbi” continues to show the signature and convincing football even after selling their key players while scoring 3 goals per game on average (the best performance in the league), which translated into 3 wins in 4 opening rounds of the 23/24 campaign. And three of the last 4 head-to-head matches have ended in a Seagulls victory. Not even the pressure of Old Trafford can do them much harm. Taking into account the above statistical trends, for the upcoming game we suggest that De Zerbi’s boys will be able to at least snatch home one point in a spectacular action-packed encounter.

Parimatch News staff prediction:

We say: The yellow card total will be higher than 4.5, the match total will be over 2.5 and Brighton will not lose – Yes.

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