Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag says his team will be ready to fight when they host Brighton and Hove Albion at Old Trafford on Saturday evening.
This is going to be the Red Devils’ first game since they lost 3-1 to Arsenal almost two weeks ago in a game that Ten Hag thought they deserved much more.
“We deserved much more at Arsenal and it was not on our side, and that was also the outcome of our analysts.
“You see we are progressing against a good Arsenal side, but minimum we had to get was a draw there. I think we should have won there but we didn’tdidn’t.” Ten Hag said on Friday afternoon.
That defeat saw the Red Devils drop out of the top 10 as they now sit 11th on the log with six points in four games.
On Saturday, they face a Brighton side who are sitting in the top six and just three points behind leaders Manchester City.
They have made a positive start to the new season, winning three of their opening four Premier League matches and scoring 12 goals in the process- more than any other top-flight team.
Before they went into the International break, they defeated Newcastle united 3-1 at home with teenage striker Evan Ferguson netting his first Premier League hat-trick.
Team News
Manchester United will be without Antony, who will not represent the club ‘until further notice ‘ amid allegations of domestic assault made against him
Raphael Varane ( muscle), Luke Shaw ( Muscle), Tyrell Malacia ( muscle), Amas Diallo (Knee), Kobbie Mainoo ( ankle), Mason Mount and Tom Heaton (calf) are all ruled out through injury.
Jardon Sancho is expected to miss out after being banned from training following his social media outbursts, while Lisandro Martinez and new recruit Sofyan Amrabat are fit to play.
For Brighton, they are still sweating on the fitness of Ferguson who withdrew from the Republic of Ireland squad due to a knee injury.
Julio Enciso and Jakub Moder are both out with knee injuries while Danny Welbeck is expected to be back after having missed the win over Newcastle.
New signings Ansu Fati and Carlos Baleba are both in contention to make their Seagulls debuts at Old Trafford.
Match Stats
In their last eight league games away from home, the Seagulls have won only four. The rest have been losses.
United haven’t lost any of their last 20 Premier League games at home since Brighton’s last visit, on the opening day of the 2022/23 season.
A brace from Pascal Gross helped the south-coast side to a 2-1 victory back in August 2022, but the Red Devils have won 17 of their top-flight fixtures at Old Trafford since then, with only Newcastle United, Leeds United and Southampton avoiding defeat.
This is their longest unbeaten run at Old Trafford since a 24-game run under Jose Mourinho between September 2016 and November 2017.
The 12 meetings between United and Brighton have always produced a winner – the Reds have seven victories, while the Seagulls have five.
The only fixtures to be played more in Premier League history without a draw are United v Wigan Athletic (16 games) and Aston Villa v Derby (14 games).
Brighton have prevailed in the last three meetings and will be looking for a fourth straight win at Old Trafford on Saturday. United have only ever lost four consecutive Premier League games against an opponent twice previously, against Liverpool (Dec 2000 – Jan 2002) and Manchester City (Apr 2013 – Nov 2014).
What was said before the game.
“We trained very well and we are ready to fight Brighton, a very good Brighton. But we are really looking forward to it and we have a good vibe, we are ready for it.” Ten Hag said in his Pre-match presser on Friday.
While Roberto De Zerbi said that they have the quality to beat United.
“It will be an honour for me to coach in this stadium but I don’t go there as a tourist. We want to play in the right way and to win.” De Zerbi said.
“Manchester United is still a great team in Europe. There will be a great atmosphere but our DNA is to try and play well, keeping the ball and trying to win. For sure it’s a tough game but we have the quality to win and play a good game.”
Possible Starting lineups
Manchester United: Onana; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Martinez, Dalot; Casemiro, Eriksen; Garnacho, Fernandes, Rashford; Hojlund
Brighton & Hove Albion: Verbruggen; Milner, Webster, Dunk, Estupinan; Gross, Gilmour; March, Fati, Mitoma, Pedro
