(Football news) Manchester United take on Brighton Hove Albion in what has become a must win match for the Red Devils. United remained fifth in the table, one point off the top four and entered the contest off the back of a 1-1 draw against Southampton, while ninth-placed Brighton recorded a 2-0 victory over struggling Watford.
The result against Southampton was a blow for United’s Champions League aspirations as it was the second league match in a row where they had taken the lead before conceding a sloopy early goal in the second half. Ragnick’s side sit fifth in the table which is one point behind fourth-placed West Ham and subsequently Arsenal are only a point behind Man United with two games in hand. For United, if they are to make the Champions League next season then they desperately need to start putting victories on the board for a top four finish at least as last they couldn’t take advantage of Tottenham dropping points.
The only thing going Ragnick’s way is that they have only lost one league match since his appointment as interim manager, but on the contrary they registered only two wins out of their last six matches in the league. Another worry for the United fans is that Cristiano Ronaldo has not registered a goal since the 3-1 victory over Burnley at the end of December. Man United are entering a critical part of the season as this string of important and difficult fixtures will most likely decide their season's fate. United will first face Leeds and then will travel to Madrid to face Atletico Madrid for the first leg of their last-16 Champions League game on February 23, while their month of March will begin with the Manchester derby.
Graham Potter's side have exceeded everyone's expectation this season, having won seven, drawn 12 and lost four of their 23 league games this season and only the top three, Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea have lost fewer matches this season. Brighton are only three points behind eighth-placed Tottenham and six ahead of 11th-placed Aston Villa, so most likely they are in a strong position to secure a top-half finish, which would be a remarkable achievement for a team that was battling to stay up in the top flight since being promoted to the Premier League in the 2017-18 season. Brighton will certainly cause United’s fragile defence a massive problem as Maupay will look to add to his 9 goals he has already scored this season. Brighton have lost each of their last six matches against Man United in all competitions but they have one of the best away records this season and have already put up gritty performances against the top 6.
For United Fred is available for selection after testing positive for COVID-19 but Nemanja Matic is struggling with a shin complaint and is a doubt, Edinson Cavani will also be out due to a groin complaint while Mason Greenwood and Eric Bailly are definitely out. United might revert back to Victor Lindelof at the back after Harry Maguire struggled in the last two encounters. For Brighton, Jeremy Sarmiento and Enock Mwepu remain unavailable through injury as Yves Bissouma might just start after he came back from international duty.
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