Brighton and Hove Albion -v- Manchester United
Premier League
Amex Stadium, Brighton
Tuesday 30 June 2020, KO 20:15 BST
Referee: Andre Marriner Assistants: Constantine Hatzidakis, Neil Davies Fourth Official: Stuart Attwell
VAR: Andy Madley Assistant VAR: Andy Garratt
Replacement Official: Ian Cooper
Manchester United will return to Premier League action on Tuesday evening when they face Brighton and Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side were in action in the Emirates FA Cup on Saturday evening, beating Norwich City 2-1, albeit after extra time which could cause freshness issues in Solskjaer’s side for this match. However, his squad is big enough to stop this from being a problem.
Brighton have not been in great form recently, although they did beat Arsenal 2-1 in the match previous to the 0-0 draw against Leicester City, which would have given Graham Potter’s side a week’s rest ahead of the visit of United, who will be seeking to keep their unbeaten run going, extending it with yet another victory, taking all three points back to Old Trafford, keeping chase on Chelsea.
Form: United unbeaten in 14 matches, scoring 35 goals, conceding four times, keeping 10 clean sheets; Brighton have won one in their last six, losing once and drawing four times.
Manchester United: WWDWWW
Norwich City 2-1 W, Sheffield United 3-0 W, Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 D, LASK 5-0 W, Manchester City 2-0 W, Derby County 3-0 W
Brighton and Hove Albion: DWDLDD
Leicester City 0-0 D, Arsenal 2-1 W, Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-0 D, Crystal Palace 1-0 L, Sheffield United 1-1 D, Watford 1-1 D
Top Scorers: Martial and Rashford have scored more goals between them than Brighton have this season. United’s forward line (Rashford, Martial and Greenwood) have scored 50 goals between them this season.
Manchester United Goals: 19 – Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, 12 – Mason Greenwood, 5 – Odion Ighalo, Scott McTominay, 4 – Bruno Fernandes, Daniel James, 3 – Harry Maguire, Juan Mata, 2 – Fred, Own Goal, Jesse Lingard, Andreas Pereira, 1 – Diogo Dalot, Phil Jones, Victor Lindelof, Nemanja Matic, Luke Shaw, Brandon Williams, Ashley Young
United are unbeaten in 14 matches, scoring 35 goals, conceding four times, keeping 10 clean sheets and driving forward in their bid to reach the top four of the Premier League. United will need to ensure three more points are taken on Tuesday evening, hoping that Chelsea will stumble when they face West Ham United on Wednesday to have a chance in breaking into the top four with five points between the two teams.
Brighton and Hove Albion Goals: 9 – Neal Maupay, 3 – Aaron Connolly, Lewis Dunk, Leandro Trossard, Adam Webster, 2 – Pascal Gross, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Aaron Mooy, Glenn Murray, 1 – Florin Andone, Shane Duffy, Davy Pröpper, Haydon Roberts
Brighton do not seem to be in the best of form at this stage of the season, Granted, there was a three-month break because of the coronavirus pandemic but they need to be doing much better. They did beat Arsenal recently, which is not really a bragging right anymore as the club is terrible and have been that was for about a decade. A draw with Leicester in their last match was a good result for them. They will be seeking a win over United though and are capable of that.
Team News: United to be without Tuanzebe and Jones for this match whilst Brighton could be missing between two and five players for this match.
Solskjaer looks likely to be without both Axel Tuanzebe and Phil Jones, who have both missed all three of the matches the club has played since football resumed earlier this month. It is not exactly a blow for Solskjaer as he has other defenders to turn to should they be needed. It could also see the likes of Teden Mengi in the travelling squad, which would be a grid experience for him on his quest for first team football.
Brighton will be without both Jose Izquierdo and Adam Webster for the visit of United whilst Steven Alzate (50%) and Tariq Lamptey (75%) have chances to be involved in the match, albeit probably down to late fitness tests. Brighton will need to thwart United from overcoming their frustrations against Norwich, struggling to break them down and heading into extra time in the FA Cup victory on Saturday.
Predicted Starting XI: Rashford, Martial and Greenwood lead the line? Fernandes, Pogba and Matic in midfield? De Gea, Lindelof and Wan-Bissaka to return to the starting XI against Brighton?
Solskjaer rested David De Gea, Victor Lindelof, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka against Norwich City in a match which saw two hours of football played on Saturday evening, no doubt causing some tiredness in the United squad ahead of this match. Rashford, Martial, Greenwood, Matic and Pogba all came off the bench after the hour mark, late in the match of in extra time, so should be fresher for this important match.
Match Prediction: United should be able to deal with Brighton when they face them on Tuesday evening but the frustration of being unable to break down Norwich might haunt them.
United and Brighton have played five times in the Premier League with United winning three and losing twice. In total, United have scored eight goals conceding six. Both United and Brighton have kept one clean sheet. United have been awarded two penalties, scoring both with Brighton awarded one and scoring it. In total, United have received four yellow cards. Brighton have received 10 yellow cards. Neither team have had a player sent off.
United and Brighton have played five times in the Premier League with United winning three and losing twice. In total, United have scored eight goals conceding six. Both United and Brighton have kept one clean sheet. United have been awarded two penalties, scoring both with Brighton awarded one and scoring it. In total, United have received four yellow cards. Brighton have received 10 yellow cards. Neither team have had a player sent off.
Brighton and Hove Albion 1-2 Manchester United
