Match Preview: Brighton hunting a drama-free first ever win at Man United
Man United away has never been a good fixture for Brighton, as our match preview is about to reveal. The Albion have been to Old Trafford on 11 previous occasions and United’s former home of Bank Street once, suffering 10 defeats and two draws in the past 112 years.
And yet this latest trip to the Theatre of Dreams does not feel in any way as daunting as it should for a venue where Brighton are, for want of a better word, crap.
Back-to-back wins over Southampton and Newcastle United have put a spring in the Albion’s step and impressive, goal scoring international performances from Jakub Moder and Leandro Trossard in midweek suggest that the Seagulls squad is in a very good place right now, brimming with confidence.
Brighton have also delivered some of their best performances and results against the better teams so far this season. When opponents have more of the ball than the Albion, it suits Graham Potter’s players who are much more potent playing on the counter attack than they are when dominating possession. United away is the sort of game that this Brighton team have enjoyed so far this season.
Does all of that mean that history will be made at Old Trafford on this occasion? Probably not. Something will undoubtedly happen that allows United to claim all three points, such as a 97th minute penalty when six minutes of injury time has been indicated and awarded after the final whistle.
But hey, let us dream for a moment about what could be possible at the Theatre of Dreams.
Manchester United this season
There are two views that you can take of Manchester United’s season so far. The first is that they are making progress under Ole Gunnar Solksjaer, albeit very small. Should they finish as runners up to Manchester City, it will be United’s joint-highest finish since 2013 when Sir Alex Ferguson retired.
The alternative opinion is that Solksjaer is seriously underperforming. He is yet to win a trophy as United boss and his only chance of doing so this season will be via the Europa League – for context, Louis van Gaal and Jose Mourinho both won silverware within two years of their appointments.
United have also slipped miles behind City; there seems little prospect of the Premier League title heading back to Old Trafford anytime soon.
For most other clubs the size of United, being so far away from winning silverware would be a cause for crisis leading to Solksjaer being handed his P45.
Because he once scored a pretty famous last minute winner in a pretty famous game some 22 years ago, he seems to be cut an unusual amount of slack by United supporters and the club’s owners, although the Glazers do not seem to give a toss about what happens on the pitch as long as their share price is good and the money keeps rolling in through the commercial side.
Man United being a shadow of their once-mighty selves is one reason why our match preview is quietly confident of Brighton securing a rare good result at Old Trafford.
Crystal Palace, Arsenal, Sheffield United and West Brom have all left with something to show for their efforts this season, so why not the Albion?
Recent form
Brighton enjoyed a very fruitful March before the international break got in the way, winning consecutive Premier League matches for only the second time this season.
United’s last runout saw their hopes of lifting the FA Cup come to an end in a 3-1 quarter final defeat against Leicester City.
Their last six league games have been an eclectic mix of results, including ending Manchester City’s 21 game winning streak by triumphing 2-0 at the Etihad Stadium and drawing with both Palace and West Brom. Such inconsistency is another factor in making it so hard to judge whether Solksjaer is doing a good job.
Brighton v Manchester United head-to-head
The Albion’s poor record against Man United has already been covered by our match preview and unsurprisingly, that feeds into a pretty rubbish picture from a Brighton point of view.
In 25 previous meetings between the clubs, the Seagulls have been triumphant on only three occasions. Chris Hughton oversaw two of those; a 1-0 win which guaranteed Premier League survival on a memorable Friday night under the Amex lights in May 2018, followed up by a madcap 3-2 victory in the first home game of the 2018-19 season.
Brighton’s other win over United came on Saturday 6th November 1982 when Peter Ward notched the only goal of the game at the Goldstone. There could well have been a famous victory seven months later under the twin towers of Wembley but Gordon Smith was denied by the legs of Gary Bailey, leaving everyone to wonder what might have been if Smith had scored.
Five Seagulls versus Red Devils matches have ended in stalemate which means that United have won on 17 occasions, including the past five in a row.
Brighton’s head-to-head record with Manchester United
Last six meetings
• Brighton 0-3 Manchester United (League Cup Fourth Round, 30/09/20)
• Brighton 2-3 Manchester United (Premier League, 26/09/20)
• Brighton 0-3 Manchester United (Premier League, 30/06/20)
• Manchester United 3-1 Brighton (Premier League, 10/11/19)
• Manchester United 2-1 Brighton (Premier League, 19/01/19)
• Brighton 3-2 Manchester United (Premier League, 19/08/18)
This will be the third clash between United and Brighton this season. The Red Devils sauntered to a routine 3-0 success in the League Cup just four days after that madcap 97 minutes of Premier League football at the Amex in which they committed daylight robbery.
If Brighton can put us through slightly less drama than hitting the woodwork five times and scoring a 96th minute equaliser, only for Neal Maupay to catch the ball in the box 60 seconds later to concede a penalty awarded once the full time whistle had gone, that would be very much appreciated.
Otherwise, a significant amount of red wine is going to be needed to get through the action following Easter Sunday’s roast at WAB Towers.
Team News
Brighton have no new injury concerns. Aaron Connolly will undergo a late fitness test after his latest problem picked up whilst on international duty with the Republic of Ireland, presuming of course he has not been caught out rogering another woman in breach of lockdown rules.
Given the excellent performance and result against Newcastle last time out, logic dictates that Potter should stick with the same team. His selections have become pretty consistent since January when he belatedly realised that picking who starts using a roulette wheel was proving detrimental to the Albion’s survival hopes – and there really are no reasons to make any changes.
As for United, Leader of the Opposition Marcus Rashford is a doubt which is excellent news for Brighton. Rashford loves playing against the Albion almost as much as he does forcing the government into embarrassing U-turns and his absence will increase the chances of an upset at Old Trafford.
Manchester United’s dangermen
Bruno Fernandes has turned out to be an incredible signing since arriving for £47 million from Sporting Lisbon last January. He leads the United scoring charts with 23 goals in all competitions, a ridiculous total for a midfielder, even if he does take penalties.
Edison Cavani’s arrival at Old Trafford in the summer went very much under the radar, which was odd given how many goals he had scored in Europe throughout his career.
Injuries have restricted the veteran Uruguayan striker to just nine league starts and nine substitute appearances in 2020-21 so far, but he has still managed to weigh in with six goals.
The betting value for Manchester United v Brighton
It should come as a surprise to nobody that Man United are favourites but the odds being so overwhelming in their favour will come as a bit of a surprise to anybody who has been convinced that Brighton have a chance by our match preview.
The hosts are 8/13 to secure victory. Much more appealing is the 3/1 on the draw, whilst overt 2.5 goals is available at evens – the six previous meetings between United and Brighton have all featured three at the very least.
An interesting subplot
Since January, United have been heavily linked with moves for both Yves Bissouma and Ben White. Recent comments coming out of the Albion suggest that Brighton will sell at least one big-name player this summer to raise come cash, so the trip to Old Trafford could be seen as an audition for those two in front of their prospective future employers.
Based on recent form, White is the one most likely to move – although if Bissouma decides to raise his game to pre-February levels in order to impress Solksjaer and co after some indifferent displays of late, then that would be another boost to the Albion’s chances of winning.
A good WeAreBrighton.com memory of Manchester United away
Brighton may have failed to win a game at United for over a century, but Manchester is always an excellent away day. The 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford in 2019 saw us meet none other than Big Sam Allardyce on the train home, unfortunately not swigging a pint of wine.
A bad WeAreBrighton.com memory of Manchester United away
A 7.45pm kick off on a Saturday night in some of the coldest conditions the Albion have ever played in was pretty grim for our FA Cup Quarter Final at United in 2018. The hosts ran out 2-0 winners although it might have been different if Jurgen Locadia could head a ball.
Manchester United’s most famous fan
Being the biggest club in the world, United are not exactly short of celebrity supporters. Usain Bolt would probably top most people’s lists of famous fans but we will go for Rachel Riley as our favourite, because she is very good at maths.
Prediction
The wait for a first win at Man United will go on for Brighton but they will at least avoid defeat at Old Trafford for the first time since winning promotion to the Premier League in 2017, leaving us to make a match preview prediction of 2-2. Gulp.
