Manchester United vs. Brighton & Hove Albion
Manchester United vs. Brighton & Hove Albion: Manchester United will host Brighton on Sunday in a match that could be the start to Erik ten Hag’s reign as the club’s manager.
Last season, Manchester United finished 13 points behind fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton were 9th only with 51 points.
Ten Hag will need to prepare Man United for their challenge to the top four, and he may struggle due to his inexperience at the domestic level of play. However, his Dutch success in World Cup qualification and recent signings indicates that they can become a contender over the course of the season.
With 58 points last season, Manchester United needed to make up 13 points in order to finish in the top four. This is an indication of how much they need to improve their squad and finish the season fighting for a spot in the Champions League.
Man Utd has only been able to sign three players this transfer window, and Cristiano Ronaldo’s future has dominated the last four weeks. With an uncomfortable start for Jeff Hege, a less than healthy start for United in general.
Losing to Aston Villa, Atletico Madrid, and Rayo Vallecano in their pre-season games was disappointing for Manchester City, but also is reflective of them still finding their feet this time around.
The Manchester United last three fixtures will show how well the club is doing just before the clash with Leicester City. They play Brentford, Liverpool and Southampton from now until then.
Brighton, meanwhile, finished ninth in the Premier League last season with 51 points from their 38 matches. This was the best ever season for Brighton at this level of football.
Seagulls were only 5 points behind seventh-place West Ham United and lost two key individuals during the summer transfer window. Seagulls could not build their team under such circumstances and have been unable to compete with some of their top opponents.
the team has been boosted by some new players with Julio Enciso and Simon Adingra joining, but it is difficult to see how Graham Potter’s side will be able to challenge for a top-10 finish this season.
Brighton have played five pre-season friendly matches this summer, and have convincingly won three of them (against Estoril, Reading and Espanyol), drawn with Union SG, and lost to Brentford.
So far, Seagulls have never won a league game at United’s home. They are on much better form in the recent last couple of seasons and will be looking to make it two wins out of two when they travel to Old Trafford in the reverse fixture.
Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has confirmed that Anthony Martial is out of the lineup due to a hamstring injury, which could give Cristiano Ronaldo an opportunity to make his presence felt at St.retford; Rashford moved away from the central position, while Anthony Elanga will replace Martial on the right wing.
The player featured in England’s opening match at this summer’s World Cup, Malacia, could appear in defense for Liverpool shortly after due to Luke Shaw’s sickness. There remains a chance that Jadon Sancho improves his fitness enough to play after not being pictured in training recently.
Brighton are likely to have a fully-fit squad, along with Joe Bennett and Duane Holmes, who are expected to rest. Mason Greenwood is suspended from the club as well.
Ex-Sporting Lisbon man Cucurella is set to leave Old Trafford and Leandro Trossard has been recalled from a loan spell in Spain, along with Alexis Mac Allister returning as United’s left-sided wing back of choice. Danny Welbeck could lead the line against his old club.
Manchester united:
- De Gea
- Dalot
- Maguire
- L Martinez
- Malacia
- Fred
- McTominay
- Sancho
- Fernandes
- Elanga
- Rashford
Brighton and Hove Albion:
- Sanchez
- Veltman
- Dunk
- Webster
- Lamptey
- Mwepu
- Gross
- March
- MacAllister
- Welbeck
- Trossard