Brighton v Manchester United predictions: Red Devils can respond to Sevilla setback

Where to watch Brighton v Manchester United

BBC One, 4.30pm Sunday

Best bet

Manchester United
2pts 2-1 bet365, BoyleSports

Brighton v Manchester United

Brighton 13-10
Manchester United 2-1
Draw 13-5

Odds correct at time of publishing

Brighton v Manchester United team news

Brighton
Joel Veltman (thigh) and Evan Ferguson (ankle) have joined Jeremy Sarmiento and Tariq Lamptey on the sidelines but Levi Colwill is available after being ineligible to face his parent club, Chelsea, last weekend.

Manchester United
Bruno Fernandes returns from suspension, but Harry Maguire is banned. Lisandro Martinez, Donny van de Beek, Raphael Varane, Tom Heaton and Alejandro Garnacho are all ruled out.

Brighton v Manchester United predictions

Manchester United were dumped out of the Europa League after a dreadful 3-0 defeat away to Sevilla on Thursday, but they have a habit of following heavy defeats with impressive victories and look overpriced to defeat FA Cup semi-final opponents Brighton at Wembley.

The Red Devils have taken a walk in the betting and are 23-20 to earn a place in the final at the expense of a Seagulls side positioned ten points below them in the Premier League.

However, United are capable of playing much better than they did in Andalusia and look excellent value to finish the week on a high.

Erik ten Hag's side haven't suffered back-to-back losses since August when opening their Premier League campaign with defeats at home to Brighton (1-2) and away to Brentford (0-4).

Each of their last seven reverses have been followed by a victory and evidence of their ability to respond to a major setback was seen last month when they recovered from a 7-0 battering at Liverpool by winning 4-1 at home to Real Betis in the Europa League round-of-16 first leg.

Ten Hag doesn't have much time to lift the spirits of his players but should be able to field a stronger 11 with Bruno Fernandes free from suspension and Marcus Rashford primed to make his first start since suffering a groin strain in the 1-0 success at home to Everton a fortnight ago.

The involvement of Fernandes and Rashford is a massive boost for United and, while they look stronger, Brighton are set to be slightly diminished after Joel Veltman and Evan Ferguson picked up injuries in last Saturday's impressive 2-1 success at Chelsea.

Brighton's victory at Stamford Bridge kept them in the mix for a top-four finish but they've always been fully committed to the knockout competitions and have taken a couple of major scalps, winning 3-1 at Arsenal in the EFL Cup third round and 2-1 at home to Liverpool in the FA Cup fourth round.

Albion's football is easier on the eye than several of the heavyweight clubs but there are occasions when they fail to make the most of their general dominance of territory and possession.

Alexis Mac Allister tops their Premier League scoring charts with eight goals (five of them penalties), while Danny Welbeck, their likely starting centre-forward at Wembley, has notched just five goals in 28 appearances across all competitions.

There have been plenty of instances when Brighton have been so dominant that the lack of a clinical finisher hasn't really mattered, but United are likely to be much more competitive than they were on Thursday and their talented individuals could give them the edge in an evenly-balanced contest.

Key stat

Manchester United have won all ten of their domestic cup matches this season.

Probable teams

Brighton (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; Gross, Webster, Dunk, Estupinan; Caicedo, Mac Allister; March, Enciso, Mitoma; Welbeck.
Subs: Steele, Buonanotte, Colwill, Undav, Gilmour, Offiah, Van Hecke, McGill, Moran.

Manchester United (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Dalot, Lindelof, Shaw, Malacia; Casemiro, Eriksen; Antony, Fernandes, Rashford; Weghorst.
Subs: Butland, Elanga, Sabitzer, Wan-Bissaka, Fred, Pellistri, Sancho, Martial.

Inside info

Brighton

Penalty taker Alexis Mac Allister
Assist ace Solly March
Set-piece aerial threat Lewis Dunk
Card magnet Alexis Mac Allister

Manchester United

Penalty taker Bruno Fernandes/Marcus Rashford
Assist ace Christian Eriksen
Set-piece aerial threat Wout Weghorst
Card magnet Bruno Fernandes

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