Premier League preview: United v Brighton

Sunday’s match will be the Reds’ first outing after the March international break as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Reds look start the final months of the campaign on a positive note.

Here’s all the essential info ahead of the 19:30 BST kick-off…

HOW CAN I FOLLOW THE GAME? 
UK-based supporters can watch the match live on BT Sport 1, with fans also able to follow rolling updates live from Old Trafford on ManUtd.com or via or Official App, where you can track in-game data from our Match Centre. MUTV will provide build-up, live radio commentary and post-match reaction as well as showing a full rerun of the game the following day.

TEAM NEWS 
Ole will provide the latest update on which Reds will be available for the Seagulls’ visit during his pre-match press conference on Friday, which will be available to watch live on MUTV. It’s likely that the boss will answers questions on the fitness of Anthony Martial, who was withdrawn early from France’s draw in Kazakhstan over the international break, along with Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood, who both pulled out of respective England duties through injuries. 

As for the visitors, Adam Webster is a doubt, while Tariq Lamptey and Solly March are out through long-term injuries.

FORM GUIDE 
The Reds will be looking to bounce back from that Emirates FA Cup quarter-final defeat at Leicester City prior to the international break, when we take to the pitch on Sunday night. Before then, Ole’s Reds had put together a run of 14 games unbeaten in all competitions and will be hope to draw confidence from that as we begin the final stage of the season. Four clean sheets in our last four Premier League outings also means that we can register five on the bounce in the league for the first time since March 2013, if we can shut out the Seagulls.

Meanwhile, Brighton make the trip up from the south coast aiming to replicate their pre-international-break form. Graham Potter’s side registered back-to-back wins for only the second time in the Premier League this season in the week before the hiatus, recording victories against Southampton and Newcastle United. The Seagulls have also only lost one of their last five away games ahead of their visit to the Theatre of Dreams.

THE MANAGER 
Graham Potter is enjoying his second season at the Amex Stadium having taken the reigns of the south-coast club in May 2019. A head coach that prefers an attacking and expansive style of football, Potter guided the Seagulls to a 15th-place finish in his debut campaign with the club registering its highest-ever points tally in the Premier League (41). Having started his career in the dugout with seven years in charge of Swedish side Ostersunds FK between 2011 and 2018, the 45-year-old made the move to Swansea City ahead of the 2018/19 season, where current United winger Daniel James was part of his playing squad during his one-year spell at the Liberty Stadium.

OPPOSITION KEY MAN 
Lewis Dunk has very much been at the heartbeat of all things Brighton since making the step up from the club’s youth ranks in April 2010. The Seagulls captain is second only to fellow centre-back Ben White in playing the most minutes across the Albion’s current Premier League campaign and has played his part in eight of the Seagulls’ nine league clean sheets this season. Dunk is also a threat in the opposition’s penalty area, netting four times in the league so far in 2020/21, the joint-highest along with Chelsea’s Kurt Zouma and Manchester City’s John Stones. 

MATCH OFFICIALS 
Referee: Mike Dean
Assistants: Darren Cann & Dan Robathan
Fourth Official: Andy Madley
VAR: Peter Bankes
Assistant VAR: Matthew Wilkes

RIVALS WATCH
The upcoming round of Premier League games sees four matches on Saturday – starting at Stamford Bridge – four fixtures on Sunday and then two on Monday, with the action wrapping up at Molineux.

SATURDAY 3 APRIL 
Chelsea v West Bromwich Albion (12:30 BST)
Leeds United v Sheffield United (15:00 BST)
Leicester City v Manchester City (17:30 BST)
Arsenal v Liverpool (20:00 BST)

SUNDAY 4 APRIL 
Southampton v Burnley (12:00 BST)
Newcastle United v Tottenham Hotspur (14:05 BST)
Aston Villa v Fulham (16:30 BST)
UNITED v Brighton & Hove Albion (19:30 BST)

MONDAY 5 APRIL 
Everton v Crystal Palace (18:00 BST)
Wolverhampton Wanderers v West Ham United (20:15 BST)