Match Preview: Manchester United v Brighton
The Premier League fixture computer hasn’t been particularly kind to Brighton and Hove Albion with it’s selection of games to kick off 2019.
A week ago it was league leaders Liverpool at the Amex. Next up is a trip to Old Trafford, a venue where we’ve never won, to take on Manchester United, the division’s form team.
A few months ago, we’d have fancied the Albion’s chances of getting something from the Theatre of Dreams with United an absolute shambles under the management of Jose Mourinho. The appointment of Ole Gunnar Solksjaer has changed all that and now, it looks like one of the toughest assignments of the season.
Who are Manchester United?
Manchester United are the most successful club in English footballing history. They’ve won 20 league titles – or 13 if you work on Sky Sports Time and don’t believe football was invented until 1992 – 12 FA Cups, five League Cups and 21 Community Shields. In continental competition, the Red Devils have three Champions Leagues, one Europa League, one Cup Winners’ Cup and one Super Cup and on an international level, one Intercontinental Cup and one FIFA Club World Cup. The majority of those trophies arrived under the management of Sir Alex Ferguson who was at the helm for 27 years between 1986 and 2013. That made United the go-to side for any football followers who wanted to support a club based purely on glory. As a result, schools across Sussex were packed with Red Devil fans throughout the 1990s and 2000s. Many of these “fans” have never set foot in the Theatre of Dreams, so with this being the Albion’s third visit in the space of 14 months, we can genuinely say that most Brighton supporters have been to Old Trafford more times than many of United’s so-called fans.
What are they like now?
For a club that prides itself on attacking football with homegrown players, the appointment of Mourinho in 2016 always seemed like a strange fit. His parking-the-bus tactics and distrust of the likes of Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw lasted just over three years before the United board decided to give him more time to play golf and drink wine giving him the sack. In Mourinho’s place has come Solksjaer, a man whose previous managerial experience extended to winning a few trophies in his native Norway and a disastrous spell at Cardiff City in which he led them to relegation to the Championship. More than a few eyebrows were raised at the appointment, even if United were keen to stress it was only on a temporary basis while they presumably wait for Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochentino to win nothing again this season before making the move in the summer. Solksjaer’s impact has been phenomenal though and United have won every game with him in charge to date, hauling themselves back into the race for a Champions League spot in the process.
Which players should we be worried about?
Paul Pogba should be one of the best players in the world but under Mourinho, he looked like a stroppy teenager who has just had his PlayStation taken away because he was sending naughty messages to the vicar’s daughter. Pogba’s return to form has been one of the reasons behind United’s uplift while Rashford also looks to be back to that exciting talent who so lit up English football when he burst onto the scene under Louis van Gaal and there cannot be a better goalkeeper on the planet than David De Gea.
What’s the Albion’s record against Manchester United?
As the Mourinho era stuttered towards it’s sorry conclusion, the Albion beat United twice in the space of four months last year – winning 1-0 at the Amex in the final home fixture of 2017-18 to confirm Premier League survival and then following that up with an entertaining 3-2 victory in August. That is very much against the norm though as United have dominated the head-to-head with 12 wins from 20 meetings. Brighton have visited Old Trafford and United’s former home of Clayton Road on 10 occasions, scoring only once through Steve Gatting in March 1983. That was also the only occasion on which we’ve avoided defeat at United.
What’s the best WeAreBrighton.com memory of Manchester United away?
Last season’s first visit to Old Trafford was rather enjoyable. After not mustering a shot against Manchester City or Arsenal, it was the first time we’d come up against one of the Big Six and actually looked a threat. United were fortunate to escape with all three points that day, Lewis Dunk deflecting home an Ashley Young shot for his second own goal of the campaign with Mourinho coming out afterwards and saying it was the toughest game his side had faced at home so far. We also went an absolutely brilliant pub crawl around Manchester before and after, confirming it’s status as one of the best cities for pubs in the country.
What’s the worst WeAreBrighton.com memory of Manchester United away?
Not a Brighton-related memory, but the WeAreBrighton.com team bought tickets for Great Britain against Senegal at Old Trafford during the 2012 Olympics in the hope of seeing David Beckham play one last time before retirement. That prick Stuart Pearce of course didn’t pick DB7, Team GB drew 1-1 and we consoled ourselves with getting absolutely hammered, going to a Thursday student night at a club with the result being a hotel toilet blocked with sick the following day. Grim.
Who’s played for both sides?
United have actually sent us a fair share of good loan players over the last 15 years or so. Paul McShane won Player of the Year in the 2005-06 season, Jesse Lingard helped Oscar Garcia’s push for the playoffs in 2014 and James Wilson scored some vital goals as well as being sick live on television before the New Year’s Day game with Wolverhampton Wanderers. In terms of permanent deals, we also picked up Champions League winner Tomasz Kuszczak on a free from United. He had two excellent seasons as number one before some rumoured ill-advised extra-curricular activities brought a premature end to his Brighton career.
Other than football, what is Manchester famous for?
Manchester played a huge role in the industrial revolution, growing from a small manorial township to become the third biggest city in England as a result of a huge boom in textile manufacturing. It fell into decline after World War II, but the IRA’s decision to blow up the middle of the city in 1996 led to significant investment and regeneration. It’s now known for it’s music scene, media links, scientific output and, yes we’ve already mentioned them, but it’s pubs. United themselves have a wealth of famous fans including Usain Bolt, Megan Fox and Justin Timberlake who all support the club due to their close geographical links to Manchester and not because they, like all those Sussex schoolkids in the 1990s, are glory hunters.
Where’s the betting value for Manchester United v Brighton?
United are obviously the overwhelming favourites and Chris Hughton will go there and set up not to concede. That makes under 2.5 goals at 10/13 appealing, especially given that neither game at Old Trafford last season topped the three goal mark and five of Brighton’s seven away games at the big six since promotion have come in at under 2.5.
Prediction?
Another encouraging display from the Albion but one which ultimately ends in a 2-0 defeat.
