Manchester United vs. Brighton
Player and Tactical Analysis; Preview
👉 Press Conference
…we haven’t had one, so I’m not entirely sure why I’ve added this section. That said, we now know Brajan Gruda is a doubt for this fixture, and Hürzeler seemed content with the performance against Ipswich.
Ah, you know what, I’ll use this section to ask a question of my own: Is it called the Theatre of Dreams because of how boring the football is? *hides from rogue flying tomatoes*
But moving on to player analysis.
👉 Danny Welbeck
You’d want Danny Welbeck to start, as it lets you optimise the rest of Brighton’s team, but is he fit enough?
He was supposedly an “option to start” against Ipswich, but pre-match, Hürzeler had this to say:
‘Close, but not close enough to start. He will be an option from the bench.’
Which makes me feel confident enough that he’ll start. Just about. But, oh boy, do Brighton need it. More than Brighton, though, there’s one person who really needs it. Olá, JP.
👉 João Pedro
João Pedro seems fit enough to start. He managed 77 minutes against Ipswich, and Fabian Hürzeler had this to say pre-match:
‘Of course, we only let a player play when he is fully-fit and we can expect him to play 90 minutes.’
And, well, despite all of the pre-match comments, João Pedro looked pretty great.
He dropped deep on the LHS, was happy to get stuck in (if this has somehow reached Christian Walton, my apologies (P.S. Brighton posted a picture of that incident online if you want to relive happy memories)), ran like a madman, triggered his shots quickly, stayed tidy when dribbling, and generally just wreaked havoc.
The issue is, he had to do all that as a 9. So there wasn’t really a CF, per se.
Enter Danny Welbeck.
Now João Pedro is likely to play as the 10, where he can advance the ball upfield instead of dragging himself back, and he gets far more room for expressionism.
But doubts still linger over his fitness. It’s a short turnaround from Ipswich, and that was his third ankle knock of the season. I’d expect him to get 74–82 minutes (he could get 90, but that feels a bit too bullish for my liking) with the possibility of squeezing in a couple more. If forced to give a singular answer, I’d go with 77 minutes.
👉 Georginio Rutter
Georginio might just be the first thing out of Leeds to be universally loved.
He’s simply brilliant. He triggers his shots early, the ball seems to stick to his feet, he runs enough to defy the laws of aerobic capacity, is happy to engage in duels and is a surprisingly good tackler. He can cover three positions and is a very decent creative force. He also just seems like a great guy.
If he’s fit enough—which he should be, considering he played around 30 minutes against Ipswich—I’d expect him to start. It’s just a matter of where. If Welbeck or JP don’t start, Georginio likely plays as the 10 (a second false 9, really). Otherwise, he should be good to go as the RW.
Minteh’s done extremely well (he might genuinely be one of my POTS), but Hürzeler has mentioned needing to fine-tune some of his skills (pace), so I suspect a bench appearance might be on the cards.
And Gruda is, well, injured.
👉 Kaoru Mitoma
This is a tricky one to predict. Mitoma has played 90 minutes against both Norwich and Ipswich, so if he starts against United, that would mean three starts and at least 250 minutes played, all within a week.
And this is coming from a player whose workload Hürzeler has spoken about wanting to manage:
“We have a big squad and we have big potential in the team.
“He has played a lot games before, in the first half of the season.
“He also played for Japan, he had long travel.
“I think he was a bit tired and you felt it.
“But he always has a big impact when he comes into the game.
“He is a special player for us. He is one of the best players we have.
“I am sure he will be back on the pitch as a starter soon.
“But it is good to have competition, good that every player recognises that they have to give their best, also in training, to deserve to play."
And the thing is, it’s not like there weren’t alternatives for those straight 90s either. Where Veltman didn’t have Lamptey to fall back on, Mitoma theoretically had Adingra. Well, I suppose Georginio and Minteh’s injuries (and Gruda’s disappearance) made things murkier, given that Adingra had to fill in as the right-winger, but still, I was surprised to see Mitoma get 90 minutes.
I think he’ll start against United, but it’s not something to be overly confident about. As in, I wouldn’t be shaking from head to toe and gasping for breath, if I saw Adingra starting as the winger.
But maybe United’s woeful defence will be. For a team that’s supposedly United, they do appear to be quite divided, don’t they?
👉 Matt O’Riley
O’Riley vs. Ayari—just close your eyes and pick your poison. I mean, there isn’t a huge gap in quality between the two—if you factor in the defensive work they’re likely going to have to do in this game. That said, O’Riley’s had some rest, and Hürzeler’s spoken about how he’s not a player Brighton bought for the bench, so there’s as good a chance as any that O’Riley starts.
Anyway, here’s a comparison between the pair, with the caveat of small sample sizes.
👉 Lewis Dunk
He’s had his rest, been eased in, and appears to be in one piece—so I think Lewis Dunk starts.
But here’s a quote to help fulfil your daily dose of self-doubt:
‘Lewis had some issues and Adam had a great come back two weeks ago when he come in against Arsenal with an impressive performance.’
👉 Joël Veltman
Perhaps it was entirely game state dependent, but I was EXTREMELY surprised Veltman wasn’t subbed off for Lamptey around the 75th minute (in place of the 90th minute Ayari sub).
He’s coming back from injury and has played a lot of football this week. At the same time, he’s arguably one of Brighton’s most important players, and for all the good Lamptey’s done this season, you’d still want Veltman as the right-back against United’s left-hand side. With Lamptey, it could be quite easy to overload Brighton’s right-hand side, and I feel like the recovery work he’d have to do would put considerable strain on his body.
So, all in all, while I think Veltman is the likely starter, it’s not impossible that Lamptey starts instead. It’s just a fitness-driven decision.
At least Veltman can go to sleep knowing Liam Delap’s got his back—and that he’s the sleep paralysis demon of every single Arsenal fan out there. That’ll show them.
👉 Predicted Lineup
👉 Tactics and Conclusion
Yeah, I think Brighton’s final iteration of the 2-1-7 in build-up might just get swallowed by United’s box midfield. Brighton *should* dominate the wide areas (so I hope central ball progression isn’t the theme of the match), but largely going with a single pivot against four midfielders… yeah...
Either way, United are favourites according to the markets, and I’d be inclined to agree. A 1-1 draw would be nice, and a win won’t be impossible—just quite difficult.
For a prediction, let’s go with Georginio and Minteh having good games, given their pace and ability to run in behind down the right. And that Brighton’s fluidity in ball progression causes some chaos.
And good luck to Lewis Dunk’s hamstrings.