Coming off a challenging 2-1 victory at Old Trafford against a gallant Leicester City, Manchester United head to ‘The AMEX Stadium’ in Brighton to take on the Brighton and Hove Albion Seagulls.
Brighton were quite disappointing in their previous game against Watford, losing 2-0 and not providing anywhere near the play that will get any club a win. They will be looking to bounce back in their first home game of the season.
Manchester United on the other hand had their moments of dominance against Leicester, but also had their moments of vulnerability. At times they played too defensively and did not press enough to build on their lead early and put the game away. It almost cost them a victory in the end, but they did enough to hold on to take the three points.
United will be looking for a much better and consistent performance against Brighton, who did cause them some trouble last season. Lets take a look into what lay ahead for United’s fixture against Brighton:
Where: The AMEX Stadium, Brighton
When: Monday 20th August, 1am AEST. Sunday 19th August 4pm BST & 11am EST
Head To Head (All Competitions): Brighton 2 wins, Manchester United 12 wins, 5 Draws
Previous EPL Match-Ups: 25th Nov, 2017: (Man Utd 1 (Dunk OG 67′) – Brighton 0); 4th May, 2018: (Brighton 1 (Pascal Groß 57′) – Man Utd 0)
Potential Line-Ups:
Man Utd (4-3-3) – De Gea, Darmian, Bailly, Lindelöf, Shaw, Fred, Pereira, Pogba, Sanchez, Lukaku, Mata
Brighton (4-4-1-1) – Ryan, Bruno, Duffy, Dunk, Bernardo, Knockaert, Stephens, Pröpper, Jahanbakhish, Groß, Murray
Final Word
Brighton proved to be a tough nut to crack for United last season in the Premier League. It took a Brighton own goal to defeat the Seagulls at Old Trafford. In addition, United fell short against Brighton away from home, a game which sealed Brighton’s spot in the Premier League for this 2018/19 season.
Brighton’s tough defensive game caused many problems for United in both games. United simply could not break through them and create any major chances. Brighton on the other hand, especially in the last meeting, took their chances to gain victory and the belief they can defeat United.
A very similar game to the previous two could be in store again for the fans. A tough, gritty defensive game of football looks to be on the cards and it will be another tough game for United to come away with a win.
Brighton will be looking to redeem themselves after a poor previous performance, while United will be looking for a better performance themselves to keep up with the league leaders after two games.
You would think that with the quality of players United possess in their ranks, they may be just too strong and put more misery into Brighton’s already deflated start to the season.
Score Prediction: Manchester United 2 – Brighton 0
