Your essential guide to Brighton v United
Manchester United travel to the Amex Stadium this weekend for our first away game of the 2018/19 Premier League campaign, against Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Reds kicked off the new Premier League campaign on a winning note, with a 2-1 victory over Leicester City at Old Trafford last Friday night, and Jose Mourinho's men will be hoping to make it back-to-back wins on Sunday afternoon.
Our match preview is here to get you up to speed ahead of the trip to the south coast...
Sunday 19 August | Premier League | Amex Stadium | 16:00 BST kick-off | Referee: Kevin Friend | MUTV are live from 14:00 BST
The boss expects to be without the injured Sergio Romero, Antonio Valencia, Diogo Dalot, Marcos Rojo, Ander Herrera and Nemanja Matic.
“We have more Pogba, Rashford, Lukaku and Fellaini, and probably Lingard coming back. Of course, they will be in a better condition.”
HOW DID BRIGHTON DO ON THE OPENING DAY?
The Seagulls, who finished 15th last term, were downed by a Roberto Pereyra double last weekend as they lost 2-0 to Watford, in the first game of what is their second successive season in the top flight since earning promotion. Boss Chris Hughton said he was left to "wonder what happened" after his side were comfortably beaten at Vicarage Road, so Brighton will be looking to respond by registering their first goal and point this weekend, in what will be their first home game of the new season.
ANY TEAM NEWS FOR THE HOSTS?
Jose Izquierdo and Florin Andone could return to the squad having missed the trip to Vicarage Road. Izquierdo could earn his first start of the season after returning to pre-season late following his World Cup exploits with Colombia, while it is still unclear whether Andone will have recovered from a groin problem in time to feature. Captain Bruno is the Seagulls' only other concern, after the veteran right-back was withdrawn through injury during the first half against Watford last Saturday.
It has been a busy summer on the south coast, with 16 new recruits arriving at the Amex Stadium and 18 players departing. Among the arrivals were Iranian winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh, who joined from AZ Alkmaar for a club-record fee, Yves Bissouma from Lille, Brazilian defender Bernardo and former Barcelona full-back Martin Montoya.
Among those leaving the club were Sam Baldock (Reading), Jiri Skalak (Millwall) and Jamie Murphy (Rangers). Experienced campaigners Steve Sidwell, Tim Krul and Liam Rosenior also left at the end of their contracts.
WHAT'S OUR OVERALL RECORD AGAINST BRIGHTON LIKE?
United have won 12, drawn five and lost just two of 19 competitive meetings with Brighton, stretching back to 1909. The most famous meeting between the clubs came in the 1983 FA Cup final, which the Reds won 4-0 in a replay, after a 2-2 draw in the previous meeting. Goals from Bryan Robson (2), Norman Whiteside and Arnold Muhren ensured United lifted the trophy in front of 91,000 at Wembley.
The Reds won 1-0 in the league and 2-0 in the FA Cup at home to the Seagulls, before losing 1-0 on our first trip to the Amex Stadium in May.
JOSE ON THE VERGE OF A CLUB RECORD
Should the Reds secure all three points against Brighton on Sunday, Jose Mourinho will become the first United manager in history to win the opening two games of a season in all of his first three years as boss. Dave Sexton was victorious in his first two matches of the 1976/77 and 1977/78 campaigns - a record Jose matched last year. Not only is Mourinho unbeaten in all 10 of his opening-day fixtures as a manager in the Premier League, he has also guided his team to back-to-back victories at the start of a campaign in seven of his nine campaigns so far in the English top flight. Let's hope that positive trend continues this weekend!
WHAT'S THE LATEST FROM JOSE?
The boss will hold his pre-match press conference at the Aon Training Complex on Friday, offering his thoughts on the game against Brighton and all things United. The exact time of that media briefing is still to be confirmed.
Marouane Fellaini was the last man to score a winner against United in an opening away game of a PL season in 2012/13. image