Brighton v Man Utd – Preview, Predictions, and Best Bets

Brighton face Man Utd at the Amex Stadium on Thursday night in the English Premier League. The Seagulls can jump to a sixth win and they’ll want to make it three league victories in a row against the Red Devils. Ten Hag’s side are looking to consolidate a spot in the top four and will want to improve an away league record which has seen just two wins in the last seven.

Brighton Form

The Seagulls are having an incredible season. A win here takes them to a top-five spot with two games in hand. They will have confidence in playing in the Europa League next season. At home, they’ve won eight of their 15 matches with the third-best defensive record. A run of just one defeat in 15 in all competitions preceded a 2-1 loss at Tottenham, owing partly to incorrect refereeing calls.

They bounced back to absolutely dominate Chelsea at Stamford Bridge with 26 shots and an xG differential of 2.39. A heartbreaking loss on penalties followed in the FA Cup semi-final to Man Utd after a 0-0 draw. A tired Brighton lost 3-1 three days later at Nottingham Forest. They were back to their best on Saturday, thrashing Wolves 6-0 despite resting three key players. They put up 3.34 xG.

Brighton Team News

Roberto De Zerbi rested some key players for the win against Wolves. Despite that 6-0 win, he is expected to recall both Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo. Billy Gilmour excelled in the last match but may have to make way. Kaoru Mitoma is also set to start after partial rest over the weekend.

Joel Veltman has shaken off a knock and is expected to play at right back. Up front, Evan Ferguson is injured but both Deniz Undav and Danny Welbeck scored braces at Molineux so there is a difficult choice to make over who will start.

Brighton Motivation

Brighton will play to dominate possession and win the match. They know Man Utd could use a full-field man-marking setup once again.

A draw would be no disaster but De Zerbi’s side won’t settle for one at any point. A victory would see them jump to sixth place with two games in hand on the team around them.

Man Utd Form

United’s form is inconsistent right now, partly due to their injuries. Their last six matches have seen two wins, three draws one defeat. A 2-0 home lead vs Sevilla turned into a late 2-2 draw. They went to Nottingham Forest and cruised to a 2-0 win before losing 3-0 in Spain to Sevilla.

After a tight 0-0 draw at Wembley, they reached the FA Cup final by beating Brighton on penalties. The last two matches have seen strong first-half displays and tired second-half performances. At Tottenham, they led 2-0 at the break but drew 2-2 at full time. Against Aston Villa over the weekend, they won 1-0 after absorbing plenty of pressure in the second half.

Man Utd Team News

In defence, both Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane remain out injured. Harry Maguire played a few minutes against Aston Villa but Luke Shaw is expected to be preferred at centre-back. Victor Lindelof has been excellent of late and will partner with Shaw.

Scott McTominay and Donny van de Beek are injured in midfield. Bruno Fernandes will start despite having a foot injury. He could play on the right like against Aston Villa with Marcel Sabitzer as the number ten. Anthony Martial and Antony are options to come into the XI instead of Jadon Sancho.

Man Utd Motivation

United saw Liverpool cut the lead to the top four to just four points on Wednesday. Ten Hag’s side have two games in hand so they won’t be panicking.

They will play to win this match but a draw is a decent result. Man Utd could go with a man-marking setup as they used in the FA Cup semi-final against Brighton.

Key Stats

Brighton have lost just 3 of their last 20 matches (all competitions)

Brighton have scored 61 goals in 31 league matches, 12 more than Man Utd

Brighton have won their last 2 Premier League matches vs Man Utd

Man Utd have kept a league-high 15 clean sheets this season

Man Utd have conceded 31 goals in 16 away EPL matches this season

Man Utd have lost 2 of their last 4 away league matches (LLWD)

Verdict

This should be a really good game. Brighton are a top side and they’re scoring a lot more goals this season than United. The visitors tend to leak goals on their travels and there are defensive injuries to contend with. Brighton have every chance of taking one or even three points from this match.

Best Bet: Brighton win at 2.00
Alternative Bet: Over 3.5 goals at 2.25
Alternative Bet: Brighton win/draw double chance + Over 2.5 goals at 2.10
Goalscorer Tip: Rashford and Welbeck to both score anytime at 6.52

James O'Connor

James is a football analyst who writes about the tactics of the PSL and English Premier League. He holds the UEFA A coaching licence and has previously worked for several clubs in analysis roles.Twitter: https://twitter.com/footy_analysis