Brighton and Hove Albion v/s Manchester United
Date: 04/05/2018
K/O: 20:00pm
Venue: Amex Stadium
TV: Sky Sports Premier League
Referee: Craig Pawson
Brighton, on the back of a goalless draw against Burnley, go into this game as the first of an extremely tough run in that includes fixtures against Man City and Liverpool to come.
With 37 points on the table, they sit 5 clear of Southampton in 18th, but will likely have to be looking over their shoulder for movements around that bottom half of the table. On paper, the 3 fixtures look like ‘free hits’ for them, and anything from the set would be considered an added bonus.
Manchester United come into this game on the back of a 90+1’ winner against Arsenal at home, and will be looking to end the season on a high. They look unlikely to be displaced from 2nd place, and a win against Brighton will go some distance in cementing that.
Team News: Davy Propper served the final of his 3 game ban against Burnley, and will be available for selection. Barring long term absentees Izzy Brown and Steve Sidwell, Chris Hughton has a full squad to choose from
Romelu Lukaku has been ruled out of the Brighton game, with Jose Mourinho hopeful that we will be fit in time for the FA Cup final v/s Chelsea. Phil Jones is doubtful, and will have to be assessed before the game, having been omitted from the squad against Arsenal. Eric Bailly is seemingly not making the matchday squad as he will not be involved in the upcoming world cup, and is therefore down the priority order, as Mourinho looks to give his CBs a chance to earn their national call ups.
Predicted Starting XIs
Brighton (4-4-1-1): Ryan | Bruno, Dunk, Duffy, Bong | Izqueirdo, Propper, Stephens, Knockeart | Groβ | Murray
Man Utd (4-3-3): De Gea | Valencia, Smalling, Lindelof, Young | Herrera, Pogba, Matic | Rashford, Sanchez, Lingard
Predicted Score
Brighton 0 Manchester United 2
I believe Brighton will certainly get chances against United, but having had problems in front of goal recently, I don’t feel that Smalling and Co. will be forced into giving up their clean sheet. Going forward though, it would be interesting to see United’s approach in the absence of Lukaku, who has been ever present for them this season. It should be an interesting match, but a goal fest is not expected.
Written by Ayush Verma.
