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Seeking a three-peat
Manchester United will look for a third-consecutive victory against Brighton this season when they welcome the Seagulls to Old Trafford on Sunday.
The Reds have not played a Premier League match since March 14 when they blanked West Ham 1-0.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men will know that they’ll likely need to win out to have any hope of overtaking Manchester City for first in the Premier League.
United has beaten Brighton twice already this season, winning 3-2 in late September and 3-0 in the Carabao Cup round of 16.
Lineup News
David de Gea is back from international duty in Spain, and although he didn’t play in any of their qualifiers he will hope to regain his spot as the starting keeper.
Dean Henderson has started the last six matches for the Reds picking up four clean sheets and will hope to start again on Sunday.
Striker Marcus Rashford had to leave the England camp due to an ankle problem and he is questionable for Sunday.
Fellow striker Anthony Martial hurt his knee in France’s World Cup qualifier versus Kazakhstan last week and missed their next match versus Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Mason Greenwood is also a question mark after being ruled out of the England Under-21 squad due to injury.
Paul Pogba appears to be healthy, featuring in all three of France’s World cup qualifying matches.
Defender Victor Lindelof missed Sweden’s 1-0 win over Estonia and could be out this weekend for the Reds.
Edison Cavani is close to 100% and could return this weekend with the health of so many United strikers in doubt.
Brighton striker Danny Welbeck could return to Old Trafford, where he started his senior career.
Tariq Lamptey and Solly March are out for the season.
The Seagulls could also be without the services of Florin Andone and Aaron Connolly.
Adam Webster will miss Sunday’s match as he continues to recover from an ankle injury.
Clean Break
Man United has come a long way in their defensive game of late, maintaining four consecutive clean sheets in Premier League action.
The last time United picked up five successive EPL clean sheets came in August 2017 under former boss Jose Mourinho.
Old Faithful
Man United’s had their share of struggles at home this season, but Brighton has never given them much concern.
The Seagulls have never beaten Man United at Old Trafford in 12 previous visits, losing their last six Premier League matches on United’s home turf.
On the Spot
When you break down the recent history between these two clubs, the common word is penalty.
Penalty as in penalty kick.
In all 12 Premier League encounters between these sides, 23% of the goals scored (5/22) have come from the penalty spot.
No fixture has seen a higher ratio of goals scored from the spot in this competition (min. 20 goals scored).
Streaking
Both sides will be feeling pretty good about their Premier League form heading into this weekend’s contest.
United are unbeaten in their last nine Premier League encounters and have not lost at home in their previous four EPL fixtures.
Graham Potter’s side has won back-to-back Premier League matches, including a 3-0 defeat to Newcastle before the international break.
Winger Leandro Trossard has scored the game-winning goal in the last two victories for the Seagulls.
Midfielder Pascal Groß is tied for ninth in Premier League assists with six.
What’s at stake?
For United maintaining a top-three position could be the best they can hope for in the Premier League this season.
They trail Man City by 17 points, with only nine-game remaining for them this season.
They are currently second, a point above Leicester and six above fourth-place Chelsea.
The Seagulls have put some distance between themselves and the teams below them, but Graham Potter knows the job is not complete.
Brighton are currently in 16th place, six points clear of Fulham and descent into the Championship.
A victory this weekend could move Brighton into a tie for 13th place.
Managers Words
Twenty-five points separate Man United from Brighton in the Premier League table.
Despite that United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says playing the Seagulls is never easy.
“Since I came, we’ve played them quite a few times. We’ve always had some hard-fought games, difficult games. We really respect the way they play and the quality that they’ve had against us. We have to be on our best to earn the right to play because you have to work really hard to get the ball off them.”
Match Info
Sunday’s match from Old Trafford gets underway at 7:30 pm. (JSL).
