Manchester United return to Premier League action for the penultimate game of the season. Ralf Rangnick and his team travel down to take on Brighton at the Amex Stadium this weekend. Here is a look at what we could expect from this fixture.
Opposition
Brighton come into this game off the back of a relatively strong season. Graham Potter has got the Seagulls playing some good football, however we all know that they have struggled with converting those chances into goals. Nonetheless they currently sit 9th in the league table and look to solidify a top half finish for the season. They come into this game with something of mixed form, in their last 6 games they have 3 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss. Obviously this is better than that of Manchester United, who in their last 6 only achieved 2 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses.
With that in mind here is how I would expect Brighton to lineup. Potter has tended to favour a back three, or back five depending on how one looks at it. Starting of course with Robert Sanchez in goal. And then a back three of Webster, Dunk and Veltman. In the wing-back positions I would expect to see Cucurella and Lamptey. With Bissouma and Caicedo in central midfield. Trossard and Allister will no doubt take up those wider attacking midfield roles with Danny Welbeck up top.
Manchester United
Manchester United come into this game off the back of a pretty decent performance and a good result over Brentford earlier in the week. Granted it was only Brentford but there were far too many times this season where this team has dropped points or looked unconvincing against lesser opposition. Whilst this was nice to see that this team is capable of controlling a game from the off and seeing out a win with little trouble. The performance felt very much a case of too little too late. Why is it only when there was nothing left to play for this season that the players were capable of putting in a solid performance.
Lineup
I would imagine that Ralf sticks with the 4-2-3-1 that we have been seeing of late. David de Gea no doubt returns in goal. Diogo Dalot put in some good balls over the top against Brentford and I would expect to see much of the same against Brighton. A centre-back partnership of Lindelof and Varane seems to be our most solid. Although Maguire has returned to full first team training I would be surprised to see him start. I would imagine that Alex Telles keeps his place at left-back.
In the midfield, it is more than likely going to be Matic and McTominay. Although with Fred coming off the bench against Brentford I would not be too surprised to see him make a return to the starting lineup. With Jadon Sancho still not fully fit, I would be very surprised if we didn’t see Anthony Elanga on one wing and Bruno Fernandes on the other. Whilst Sancho has made a return to training, I would imagine that he starts on the bench here. I think Juan Mata deserves another start in the number 10 position after impressing against Brentford. And then up top it is without doubt Cristiano Ronaldo. Another flawless performance against Brentford, and this Brighton game could offer the perfect chance to increase that impressive goal tally of his.
Prediction
Whilst a good performance against Brentford may have lifted fans hopes of what this team is capable of; Manchester United have struggled against Brighton of late. As mentioned earlier Graham Potter has the Seagulls playing some great football, with a look to play with width, retain possession and win the ball back in the opposition’s half. They could prove to be a tough challenge for Rangnick and his team. However, I think that with the form that Ronaldo is in at the moment and a few other players stepping up to the task we could get a win here. I highly doubt that we will keep another clean sheet, so with that in mind I am predicting a 2-1 United win.