Man Utd vs Brighton: Match Preview | Confirmed Team News | Expected Line-ups

Man Utd invite Brighton to Old Trafford this evening for their first match back following the end of the international break.

In their final game before the break, Man Utd were knocked out of the FA cup quarter-finals after a disappointing 3-1 defeat against Leicester City. That result also meant that Utd lost their 29 unbeaten away game record which had been running for an impressive 14 months.

Brighton currently sits in 16^th place in the table, 6 points clear of relegation. On the other hand, Utd find themselves in second place and will be hoping to secure this position for another week with a win tonight.

Team News

Man Utd will be without Phil Jones and Juan Mata who remain out with injuries. Other doubts for Utd are Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood and Anthony Martial, alongside centre-back Victor Lindelof.

Speaking in his pre-match press-conference, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed that Rashford and Greenwood both joined in training Friday morning and that “hopefully they don’t get any reaction”.

Perhaps more doubtful for the game are Martial and Lindelof who did not join in with training on Friday. Solskjaer stated that, “we are still waiting for final confirmation on how they are”.

All other Utd players will be available for the game including the likes of Paul Pogba and van de Beek who carrying injuries before the international break.

Brighton will still be without Tariq Lamptey and Solly March who are out for the rest of the season. Adam Webster will also miss the outing to Old Trafford as he is still recovering from an ankle injury.

Nevertheless, other than these players, Graham Potter has confirmed that “Everybody’s back from the internationals. All the tests have come through fine and we have no injuries”.

Aaron Connolly was a doubt for the game after being substituted in his international fixture, however, it was confirmed that he trained on Friday and may therefore be able to feature against Utd.

Expected Line-ups

Man Utd (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Bailly, Maguire, Shaw; Fred, Pogba; Rashford, Fernandes, James; Cavani.

David De Gea should reclaim his place in goal as Utd’s number one goalie after having served some time out for personal reasons. Dean Henderson has shown himself as a contender for the number one position at Utd. Nevertheless, whilst De Gea is at the club and available, he should remain as being the number one choice in goal.

With Victor Lindelof a doubt for the game, Eric Bailly should come in as his replacement. There has been speculation recently concerning Bailly’s annoyance over his lack of game time, therefore this would be a good opportunity to see the Ivorian in action again. Luke Shaw will most likely retain his spot at left-back following his good form which will see Alex Telles settling for a place on the bench.

In the middle, Paul Pogba should return to his number 6 position alongside Fred. Whilst Pogba has proven to be effective on the wings, he is able to control the game and have a bigger impact when he is playing in the middle of the field.

If fit, Marcus Rashford should return to his position on the left-wing. Having not gone on international duty, he should have hopefully had the time he needed to recover enough to play this evening.

Bruno Fernandes returned to Manchester early after receiving two yellow cards and a suspension on international duty. This means the playmaker should be re-energised for the game.

On the right-wing – with Mason Greenwood a doubt – Dan James will most likely be given a chance to start in this position after some good performances over the international break. Furthermore, Sunday may see the welcome return of Edinson Cavani to the starting line-up with Martial being another doubt for the game.

Brighton (3-4-1-2): Sanchez; White, Dunk, Burn; Gross, Bissouma, Lallana, Moder; Trossard; Maupay, Welbeck.