FA Cup preview: Man Utd need to bounce back with with over Brighton

Manchester United will be looking to bounce back from their Europa League disaster when they take on Brighton in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley on Sunday afternoon.

A once promising campaign that saw fans dreaming of a potential treble not too long ago is in danger of unraveling. United crashed out of the Europa League at the quarter-finals despite being the heavy favourites, not only to progress to the semi-finals but to go all the way and win the competition. Having led 2-0 in the first leg at Old Trafford, Man Utd were living up to their ‘favourites’ tag. However, a late collapse saw them settle for a 2-2 draw so they needed a result in Spain.

Unfortunately, Man Utd produced one of their worst performances of the season and they were soundly beaten by Sevilla on Thursday night. Individual mistakes from David de Gea and Harry Maguire summed up the teams display as they slumped to a 3-0 loss, going out 5-2 on aggregate at the quarter-final stage.

Ten Hag was furious with his sides performance, but he’ll need to pick them up quickly as they have another huge game to content with on Sunday. Going out of two major cup competitions in the space of four days would be a disaster for United, so they need to regroup quickly, put the Sevilla loss behind them and focus on beating Brighton at Wembley in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

However, that’s easier said than done as Brighton have been one of the surprise packages this season. The south coast club are right in the mix for a European place this season and would be a lot closer to the top four if some contentious decisions went their way against Tottenham earlier this month. They suffered a 2-1 defeat but were robbed of a penalty with the score at 1-1 while two other goals were ruled out controversially.

Brighton bounced back with a comfortable 2-1 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last week, so they’ve shown multiple times this season that they are a match for any of the ‘big’ clubs. Man Utd cannot afford to take this task too lightly as Brighton are more than capable of winning on Sunday to book their place in the final.

Ticket issues

The build up to the game has been fans expressing their frustration at the ticket allocation. Despite Wembley boasting a capacity of around 90,000, Man Utd have only been allocated around 34,000 tickets. It’s a common complaint when big clubs play in these games, but it’s no less frustrating for the match going fan. Getting hold of Manchester United tickets is always difficult, but it’s virtually an impossible task for a huge game such as this at Wembley.

Supporters had to apply for tickets via a ballot last month but only a select few were lucky enough to get their hands on a ticket through official channels. United could probably have sold their allocation 10 times over, so there are plenty of frustrated fans who won’t be able to attend on Sunday. You could try getting hold of a ticket via a reseller site but make sure you use a reputable company.

Thankfully, for those who don’t have a ticket to attend the match live, you’ll be able to watch the game as it happens on BBC One at 4.30pm.

Injury concerns

Manchester United have suffered a spate of injuries at just the wrong time of the season. Lisandro Martinez has been ruled out for the rest of the campaign with a foot injury and his absence has been sorely felt.

To compound matters, fellow centre-back Raphael Varane is also set to miss out once again this weekend with his own foot injury. Therefore, ten Hag will be without his first choice centre-back partnership meaning he has little choice but to stick with Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof this weekend.

Scott McTominay will be a doubt as he’s still being assessed due to a knock while Donny van de Beek is out for the season with a knee injury. Garnacho is also on the sidelines with an ankle injury so he’s expected to miss the trip to Wembley this weekend.

Rashford recalled?

Ten Hag didn’t risk Marcus Rashford from the start against Sevilla as he’s only just returned to action. However, the England international is expected to be recalled to start against Brighton on Sunday.

Wout Weghorst could also be brought back into the starting eleven after being left out recently. The Dutchman could replace Anthony Martial up front with Antony keeping his place out wide. Jadon Sancho could drop to the bench.

Christian Eriksen may start alongside Casemiro in midfield meaning Fred will have to make do with a place on the bench once again. Bruno Fernandes is set to be recalled after being suspended on Thursday night so the Portuguese international will start in the attacking midfield role for Man Utd.

That would see Marcel Sabitzer dropping out after a disappointing display against Sevilla. Luke Shaw could return at left-back with Diogo Dalot making way if ten Hag sticks with Aaron Wan-Bissaka at right-back. De Gea should keep his place in goal despite his horror-show in Spain.

As for Brighton, they’ll be without Joel Veltman after the defender picked up a thigh injury against Chelsea. Striker Evan Ferguson also limped off at Stamford Bridge with an ankle issue and will miss the semi-final. Webster could join Lewis Dunk in defence while Danny Welbeck could start against his former club in place of Ferguson.

Tariq Lamptey is also still out for Brighton as he’s nursing a knee injury. Adam Lallana and Jeremy Sarmiento are other injury concerns for the Seagulls.

Brighton: Sanchez; Gross, Webster, Dunk, Estupinan; Caicedo, Mac Allister; March, Enciso, Mitoma; Welbeck

Man Utd: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Maguire, Lindelof, Shaw; Casemiro, Eriksen; Antony, Fernandes, Rashford; Weghorst

Prediction

Brighton 2-1 Man Utd: This is going to be a fascinating game and while many will assume a club of the stature of Man Utd should be considered favourites, Brighton will give as good as they get on Sunday. De Zebri’s side have been outstanding all season and will not be overawed by the occasion.

Brighton have been playing terrific football and will be looking to take advantage of any hangover suffered from Man Utd’s Europa League trip to Sevilla. The Man Utd players will be hugely disappointed with that exit and it’s a big task for ten Hag to pick them up so quickly. Therefore, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Brighton edge this game to book their place in the FA Cup final.