United host Brighton on Sunday, with recent history firmly against us. The visitors could match a feat only achieved by Manchester City in winning three straight league games at Old Trafford, while their remarkable 47% win rate against United is the highest of any Premier League side.
Thursday’s late comeback against Southampton papered over 80 minutes of concerning play. While Amad Diallo’s hat-trick heroics saved the day, such a performance against Brighton – who’ve won five of our last six meetings – could prove far more costly. Our defensive vulnerabilities are particularly worrying, with no clean sheet in 11 games and a league-worst record of 10 goals conceded from corners.
Make no mistake – United will need a dramatic improvement to avoid Brighton making it an unwanted hat-trick of Old Trafford victories
Manchester United Team News
Diogo Dalot returns to availability for Manchester United’s Premier League clash with Brighton on Sunday, having served his one-match suspension during Thursday’s dramatic victory over Southampton. The Portuguese defender’s ban, resulting from two yellow cards at Arsenal in the FA Cup, had ended his run of consecutive appearances dating back to December 2023.
Luke Shaw was spotted at Old Trafford for the Southampton match, with manager Ruben Amorim indicating the left-back could resume full training within two weeks following his early December injury. The injury list remains significant, with Mason Mount’s recovery progressing slower than Shaw’s since the Manchester derby, while both Jonny Evans and Victor Lindelof continue their rehabilitation from injuries sustained in the Carabao Cup loss at Tottenham.
Amorim will need to manage his midfield options carefully after both Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte were substituted against Southampton due to fatigue. Former Brighton academy product Toby Collyer, who has featured from the bench in the last two matches, presents a fresh alternative against his old club.
brighton Team News
Brighton received a boost with Danny Welbeck making his league return as a substitute in Thursday’s 2-0 win at Ipswich, which ended their eight-game winless run in the league. The veteran striker, who has netted six times against his former club since leaving Old Trafford in 2013, contributed to Georginio Rutter’s decisive goal.
Despite pre-match concerns, Rutter, Yankuba Minteh, and Joao Pedro were all fit to feature at Portman Road, while Tariq Lamptey recovered from illness to make the bench. Captain Lewis Dunk also made his comeback, replacing Adam Webster in the second half.
Manager Fabian Hurzeler continues to navigate an injury crisis, with Igor ruled out for the season with a hamstring issue and Ferdi Kadioglu facing an extended absence due to an ankle problem. While Evan Ferguson and Jack Hinshelwood have resumed training, late fitness tests will be required for both Brajan Gruda and Mats Wieffer
Predicted XI
Onana;
De Ligt, Maguire, Martinez;
Mazraoui, Collyer, Casemiro, Dalot;
Amad, Fernandes;
Zirkzee.
Form Guide
Manchester United All Competitions Form:
L L D W W
Manchester United League Form:
L L L D W
Brighton All Competitions Form:
D D D W W
Brighton League Form:
D D D D W
Prediction
Manchester United have proven they can pull off impressive performances in the biggest of games. Away draws against Liverpool and Manchester City, and an excellent FA Cup win against Arsenal have given glimpses of the type of team Amorim is trying to create.
Where we’ve struggled are the so-called ‘easier’ games. At home to Bournemouth, Newcastle and even Southampton in the week – we just didn’t look at the races. What we really need to do is replicate the high performance levels from the big games in the more run-of-the-mill fixtures.
If we can figure out how to do that, we should have no issue. Perhaps resting some big-name players (Mainoo and Ugarte looked nackered on Thursday evening) is the way to go.
Predicted score: Manchester United 2-1 Brighton