Manchester United has a glorious opportunity to at least cut Manchester City's eight-point lead momentarily at the top, given that the Citizens will be playing their match on Sunday. Manchester United hosts Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford on Saturday in a Premier League match that the hosts need to if they don't want the lurking Chelsea not to overtake them with a late kick-off game at Liverpool. The Red Devils go into the match after suffering a dramatic last minute 1-0 loss at Basel in Champions League in midweek.
Brighton & Hove Albion who had no European responsibility throughout the week go into the match fresh from last weekend's 2-2 draw against Stoke City at The American Express Community Stadium.
The Seagulls are currently placed ninth in the league standings and could climb to the eighth spot with a win in Manchester if Watford fails to win its match.
Talking points
- It's the first time that the two teams will meet in the league since the inception of Premier League. The last encounter in the league pitting Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion took place in 1983 where the game ended in a draw of 1-1 at Old Trafford.
- The two sides have met sixteen times in all competitions, but the Seagulls have only managed a single win in which they beat the Red Devils 1-0 at home. The latest confrontation between the two clubs saw Manchester United beat Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0 in FA Cup fourth-round in 1993 at Old Trafford.
- Manchester United is currently enjoying an impressive home run that has seen the Red Devils win all their six home games scoring a massive eighteen goals while only conceding a single Premier League goal in that run.
- Manchester United are unbeaten at Old Trafford in their last twenty-three league matches. In fact, the Red Devils have seven consecutive Premier League matches that they've played in their backyard.
- Manchester United have won all their last eighteen encounters with league debutants. However, Jose Mourinho's men lost 2-1 in this season's league match Huddersfield Town, but it was away from Old Trafford.
- Manchester United have scored a minimum of two goals in five of the last seven Premier League matches they've played at home. In fact, the Red Devils have been leading both at half-time at full-time in five of the last seven Premier League matches played at Old Trafford.
- Brighton & Hove Albion are unbeaten in their last five Premier League matches. The last league game that the Seagulls lost was the 2-0 at Arsenal early in October.
- In the 13 league goals that the Seagulls have scored, Pascal Gross has a direct 63% contribution to that success of goalscoring. Gross has scored three goals and assisted his teammates in scoring on five occasions.
Team news
The match comes too early for Eric Bailly, Michael Carrick and Phil Jones who are nursing various forms of injuries.
It means that Mourinho will most likely start the match with Victor Lindelof, Marcos Rojo and, Smalling in the three-man defense. Juan Mata, Nemanja Matic, David de Gea, Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia were rested in the midweek trip to Switzerland will find their ways into the starting lineup.
The visitors only have one injury which means that Chris Haughton will stick to the team that has won four, drawn four, and lost in the league this term.
The Seagulls will only miss the services of Steve Sidwell who's sidelined with an injury.
Predictions
Red Devils will continue to show their ruthlessness to league newcomers at Old Trafford when they host the Seagulls. The hosts are enjoying an impressive home run which is set to continue given that Mourinho rested a couple of key players in Champions League contest at Basel.
The only detrimental thing that can work against the hosts is the loss of confidence following the midweek defeat.
The Seagulls are fresh from last weekend's home draw against Swansea City with Chris Haughton's men training all week long in anticipation of the Saturday's contest at the expense of their opponents who were busy in midweek. Even though Albion looks like the underdogs in the match, Pascal Gross will help in preventing the hosts from keeping a clean sheet.
Full-time prediction: Manchester United 4-1 Brighton & Albion
