Coming fresh off a 3-1 win over Southampton, Manchester United are set to host Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford this afternoon.
While the Southampton match may have looked like a comfortable win according to the scoreline, it was anything but. Currently bottom of the Premier League, Southampton led 1-0 against Man United for a large chunk of the match, only for Ruben Amorim’s men to spark a comeback in the 82nd minute, with Amad Diallo going on to earn a sensational hat-trick.
Unfortunately, the goal that United conceded came from a vulnerability that they have shown time and again – poor defending from corners. Manuel Ugarte turned the ball into his own net to hand the visitors a lead that they almost held until the final whistle.
Beating Ipswich Town 2-0 away from home in their previous outing, Brighton put an end to an eight-game winless streak in the Premier League. Such poor form is encouraging for United, but there are still some dangers that the visitors may pose that Amorim’s team will want to be aware of.
Striker Joao Pedro is arguably the visitors’ biggest threat up front. With five goals and five assists in 15 league matches this season, the Brazilian has been particularly effective against sizeable opposition. He scored to hand Brighton a valuable draw against Arsenal at the start of January, having provided two assists in the 2-2 draw with Aston Villa the match prior.
What’s more, earlier in the season, he found the back of the net in his side’s 2-1 win over Manchester City and scored yet again against Arsenal in the 1-1 draw in their reverse fixture. (Stats via Transfermarkt)
Sadly, United are no stranger to Pedro’s clinical finishing. In their previous encounter, the Brazilian scored the winner to hand his side a late 2–1 victory at the American Express Stadium.
With Harry Maguire expected to return to the starting 11 and expected to play alongside Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez in Amorim’s usual back three, he could be key to keeping Pedro and the rest of the Brighton attackers at bay.
Furthermore, Maguire’s and De Ligt’s heights may come in handy as United look to cease their defensive vulnerabilities from set pieces.
Maguire has won an impressive 69% of his aerial duels in the Premier League this season, while De Ligt has won a respectable 65% of his aerial battles.
While he may not have the same height advantage, Lisandro Martinez has shown a good ground game this season, averaging 1.9 tackles, 2.8 clearances, and 4.1 ball recoveries per game. He could play a pivotal role in breaking down Brighton’s quick-paced counter-attacks.
Ultimately, Amorim must opt for height and physicality at the back in order to beat Brighton in the air – a decision he is expected to take.
In the midfield, Bruno Fernandes may provide some much-needed creativity. He has proven time and again to be more effective in the middle of the park than in Amorim’s front three, so this would naturally be the place he should play. Paired with Kobbie Mainoo, there should be plenty of seamless passing innovative gameplay which could prove to be the foundation of United’s build-up play.
After all, Mainoo has an 87% passing accuracy and 70% accuracy for long balls, while Fernandes averages an impressive 2.3 key passes per game.
Up front, it would appear wise to select Joshua Zirkzee ahead of an ineffective Rasmus Hojlund. Amad Diallo is a natural choice on the right, coming off of his sensational performance against Southampton, while Alejandro Garnacho is expected to compliment him on the left.
Scoring six goals and conceding four in their last five league matches, Brighton have been gradually improving their form in recent times, meaning United will need to be at their best to come away with a win.
Losing focus, as was the case against Southampton, is not a mistake that United can afford this time around.
Featured image by Carl Recine via Getty Images
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Mathew Cohen
A faithful Manchester United supporter, Mathew has worked as a football writer and analyst for SB Nation, FanSided, and now The Peoples Person. Mathew’s heroes include David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Sir Alex Ferguson, all of whom played their part in creating some special childhood memories.
