Manchester United -v- Brighton & Hove Albion
Premier League
Old Trafford, Manchester
Sunday 19 January 2024, KO 14:00 GMT
Manchester United continue their pursuit in the Premier League at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon when they welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to the Theatre of Dreams. United beat Southampton in added time on Thursday evening after Manuel Ugarte scored an own goal and Amad scored a hat-trick to rescue United.
It was a major boost for United after they have seemingly turned another corner after a poor run during the Festive Period but drawing 2-2 with Liverpool, beating Arsenal on penalties in the Emirates FA Cup and now beating Southampton. United will need to beat Brighton to continue that good form keeping their run going.
At the time of writing, United sit 12 in the Premier League table with 26 points, five shy of Brighton who sit in ninth place in the league table. United will need to close the gap between them and the teams in the top six, which is where United should be aiming to finish this season, if not higher. There is still time to achieve this.
United – Form, Goals Scored & Assists
Southampton 3-1 W, Arsenal 1-1 (5-3) W, Liverpool 2-2 D, Newcastle 2-0 L, Wolves 2-0 L, Bournemouth 3-0 L
Goals: 9 – Amad, 8 – Alejandro Garnacho, 7 – Bruno Fernandes, Rasmus Hojlund, Marcus Rashford, 4 – Christian Eriksen, Joshua Zirkzee, 3 – Casemiro, 1 – Antony, Matthijs de Ligt, Jonny Evans, Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez
Assists: 11 – Bruno Fernandes, 7 – Amad, 5 – Alejandro Garnacho, 4 – Christian Eriksen, 3 – Marcus Rashford, 2 – Diogo Dalot, Noussair Mazraoui, Joshua Zirkzee, 1 – Rasmus Hojlund, Lisandro Martinez, Manuel Ugarte
Brighton – Form, Goals Scored & Assists
Ipswich 2-0 W, Norwich 4-0 W, Arsenal 1-1 D, Villa 2-2 D, Brentford 0-0 D, West Ham 1-1 D
Goals: 6 – Danny Welbeck, 5 – Simon Adingra, Joao Pedro, Geroginio Rutter, 4 – Kaoru Mitoma, 3 – Carlos Baleba, Tariq Lamptey, 2 – Ferdi Kadioglu, Yankuba Minteh, 1 – Julio Enciso, Evan Ferguson, Jack Hinshelwood, Solly March, Mark O’Mahony, Matt O’Reily, Jeremy Sarmiento, Mats Wieffer
Assists: 5 – Joao Pedro, 2 – Carlos Baleba, Tariq Lamptey, Yankuba Minteh, Karou Mitoma, Georginio Rutter, Mats Wieffer, Danny Welbeck, 1 – Simon Adingra, Julio Enciso, Pervis Estupinan, Brajan Gruda, Matt O’Riley, Cameron Pepino, Juan Paiul van Hecke, Joel Veltman, Adam Webster
Previous Meetings & Connections
United and Brighton have met 15 times in the Premier League. United won eight times, drew no times and lost seven times. United have scored 23 goals against Brighton winning three penalties, scoring all of them. Brighton have scored 21 goals, winning three penalties, scoring all of them.
United have kept four clean sheets against Brighton, who have kept three against United. Despite a short Premier League history United players have been shown 29 yellow cards with Brighton players shown 26 yellow cards. There is yet to be a red card shown in these fixtures in the Premier League.
Danny Welbeck, Oliver Norwood, James Wilson, Jesse Lingard, Tomasz Kuszczak, Robbie Savage, Frank Stapleton, Andy Ritchie, Mickey Thomas, Nikita Parris and Maya Le Tissier have all played for both United and Brighton throughout their careers.
Team News
United: United have four players out of action with Luke Shaw getting closer to returning, probably before he suffers another injury, which has been his season so far. Victor Lindelof, Jonny Evans and Mason Mount remain on the sidelines. Diogo Dalot was suspended for the Southampton match and will return against Brighton.
Ruled Out: Victor Lindelof (other), Luke Shaw (calf/shin/heel), Jonny Evans (other) and Mason Mount (thigh)
Doubts: None
Suspended: None
Brighton: Brighton have a major injury crisis ahead of the clash with United at Old Trafford on Sunday. Igor Julio, Ferdi Kadioglu, James Milner, Mats Weiffer and Brajan Gruda are all out of contention. Jack Hinshelwood, Evan Ferguson and Diego Gomez are all doubts but will be subject to late fitness tests ahead of the match.
Ruled Out: Igor Julio (thigh), Ferdi Kadioglu (ankle/foot), James Milner (thigh), Mats Wieffer (thigh) and Brajan Gruda (knock)
Doubts: Jack Hinshelwood (knee), Evan Ferguson (ankle/foot) and Diego Gomez (other)
Suspended: None
Predicted United Starting XI – 3-4-2-1
Onana;
De Ligt, Maguire, Martinez;
Mazraoui, Ugarte, Mainoo, Dalot;
Amad, Fernandes;
Hojlund
Predicted Brighton Starting XI – 4-2-3-1
Verbruggen;
Veltman, van Hecke, Webster, Estupinan;
Baleba;
Adingra, O’Riley, Ayari, Mitoma;
Pedro
History, training and the lead up to the big match
United and Brighton have met 34 times in the history of both clubs. United have won 21 times, drawn five times and lost eight times. The last defeat to Brighton came at the start of the season, losing 2-1 at the Amex Stadium with goals from Danny Welbeck, Joao Pedro and Amad Diallo.
United have built up some good form in the last three matches, drawing 2-2 with Liverpool in the Premier League, beating Arsenal on penalties in the Emirates FA Cup and coming from behind to beat Southampton 3-1 in the Premier League with Amad scoring’s first hat-trick for the Old Trafford club.
United will need to keep their heads once again as Brighton has become a bogey team for United with two wins in the last nine matches in all competitions, losing seven times. Prior to those nine matches, United were on a seven match winning run against the South Coast club. United need to win this match.
Manchester United 3-1 Brighton
Written by Paul
Discover more from Daily Man Utd News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.