Five must-see stats before Man Utd v Brighton
Manchester United host Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford on Saturday (15:00 BST), as the Premier League season resumes following the September international break.
Erik ten Hag’s side will be leaning on a strong home record after a mixed start to the campaign, while the visitors are the top-flight’s leading scorers and have picked up nine points from a possible 12 so far.
Here are five of the best pre-match stats ahead of the meeting with the Seagulls, as provided by our friends at Opta…
FORTRESS OLD TRAFFORD
United haven’t lost any of our last 20 Premier League games at home since Brighton’s last visit, on the opening day of the 2022/23 season. A brace from Pascal Gross helped the south-coast side to a 2-1 victory back in August 2022, but the Reds have won 17 of our top-flight fixtures in M16 since, with only Newcastle United, Leeds United and Southampton avoiding defeat. This is our longest unbeaten run at Old Trafford since a 24-game run under Jose Mourinho between September 2016 and November 2017.
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CHASING SIR ALEX’S FINAL VINTAGE
That 0-0 draw with the Saints back in March was the last blip on our home record in the league, as Brentford, Everton, Aston Villa, Wolves (twice), Chelsea, Fulham and Nottingham Forest have all left the Theatre of Dreams empty handed since. That run of eight straight home wins is our best in the Premier League for 10 years, with Sir Alex Ferguson’s title winners of 2012/13 recording a dozen straight success on our own patch.
BRUNO THE KEY?
If you take own goals out of the equation – Lewis Dunk and Alexis Mac Allister have both scored for us in this fixture – Bruno Fernandes has directly contributed to six of United’s last eight Premier League goals against Brighton. The Reds captain has scored four and registered two assists, with only Aston Villa and Leeds (both six) conceding more goals to our no.8 in the competition.
SIDES ALWAYS SEPARATED
The 12 meetings between United and Brighton have always produced a winner – the Reds have seven victories, while the Seagulls have five. The only fixtures to be played more in Premier League history without a draw are United v Wigan Athletic (16 games) and Aston Villa v Derby (14 games).
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STOPPING THE ROT?
Brighton have prevailed in the last three meetings and will be looking for a fourth straight win here. United have only ever lost four consecutive Premier League games against an opponent twice previously, against Liverpool (Dec 2000 – Jan 2002) and Manchester City (Apr 2013 – Nov 2014).
Many thanks to Opta for providing the stats.