Manchester United will return to the scene of controversy this evening as they take on Brighton and Hove Albion in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup at the American Express Community Stadium four days after their last visit to the stadium in the Premier League. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side won their first three points of the new season in the fixture in a game which awarded two penalties; one after the full time whistle. United will be pleased with their latest victory over Brighton, winning their last four encounters against the South Coast club. United will be happy with their return to winning ways after the victory over Luton Town also.
Solskjaer will be seeking to get the better of Graham Potter’s Brighton side for the second time in four days and earning a quarter-final place in the domestic competition, which will not be played until late December, meaning the Festive period will be a busy one for United. The Norwegian will be seeking to win his first trophy for the club and came close last season, reaching the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup, Emirates FA Cup and the UEFA Europa League last season. This season, United were expected to be much better but a last of pre-season has left the squad out of sorts and seeking to regain the pace which was lost at the end of last season.
This week could be a busy one for United with the summer transfer window closing next Monday (5 October), meaning United will have a short amount of time to get deals done. There are some areas that Solskjaer would like to strengthen this summer and some players that the club would like to offload. Chris Smalling is still linked in both AS Roma and Inter Milan in Italy and it has emerged that Andreas Pereira is subject to some interest from Lazio. The likes of Marcus Rojo and Phil Jones could also mean the club sees a flurry of activity. There is a domestic window that closes on the 16 October but Premier League clubs will not be able to sell to each other.
Manchester United:
Henderson;
Dalot, Lindelof, Bailly, Williams;
McTominay, Fred;
Mata, Van de Beek, James;
Ighalo
Substitutes:
Grant; Fosu-Mensah, Mengi; Pogba, Lingard; Rashford, Greenwood
Brighton and Hove Albion:
Steele;
Burn, Dunk, White;
Veltman, Molumby, Gross, Bernardo;
Jahanbakhsh, Mac Allister;
Gyokeres
Substitutes:
Sanchez; Roberts; Sanders, Cochrane, Jenks; Maupay, Trossard
United and Brighton have met twice in the League Cup in the history of the competition; a 1-1 draw on the 23 September 1992 with Danny Wallace scoring United’s goal and a 1-0 victory in the second leg with Mark Hughes scoring the winning goal. In the FA Cup, United and Brighton have met seven times with United winning winning five and drawing twice (both led to replays with United winning). It basically shows that United have not lost to Brighton in a cup match with nine matches played, six won and three drawn. It is a good record for United to keep alive this week as United look to reach the quarter-finals of the competition this season.
United and Brighton met at the American Express Community Stadium in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon. It was a 3-2 victory for United and there was some controversy. Neal Maupay opened the scoring for the home side from the penalty spot with United equalising minutes later through a Lewis Dunk own goal. United then took the lead through Marcus Rashford only for Solly March to equalise in added time. Harry Maguire headed into the top-left corner and cleared off the line by March. However, Maupay was judged to hand handled the ball, after the final whistle with a penalty being awarded and scored by Bruno Fernandes.
Written by John Walker
