STAR FOOTBALL PREVIEW Sun: Manchester United v Brighton

Whilst there isn’t going to be another cupset at Old Trafford today – Brighton dumping Manchester United out wouldn’t be a seismic shock – neutrals should be in for a good time at Old Trafford when Manchester United face Brighton in the third round, writes WILLIAM KEDJANYI.

United have only just seen Reuben Amorim leave Old Trafford after his relations with the board broke down and his interim replacement Darren Fletcher had an eventful debut when they drew 2-2 at Burnley, as Benjamin Sesko saw his double cancelled out by an Ayden Heaven own goal and Anthony’s equaliser.

There were positives for Fletcher – Benjamin Sesko took his brace well and looked dangerous when getting better service, a change in formation appeared to work very well for Patrick Dorgu in particular, Bruno Fernandes was always causing issues on his return and United were extremely unlucky not to win. They won the shot count 30-7, fired 10 shots on target to one, and won the xG battle 2.55 to 0.24 with Opta.

However, that came against a Burnley side which is looking destined for the drop, the two goals they coughed up were entirely preventable, and they have conceded 32 Premier League goals, which is the worst defensive record outside the bottom six.

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Manchester United v Brighton
FA Cup Third Round
20:00 TNT Sports 1 / TNT Sports Ultimate / discovery+

LAST FIVE STATS

HEAD-TO-HEAD
OCT 2025 PREMIER LEAGUE Manchester United 4-2 Brighton
JAN 2025 PREMIER LEAGUE Manchester United 1-3 Brighton
AUG 2024 PREMIER LEAGUE Brighton 2-1 Manchester United
MAY 2024 PREMIER LEAGUE Brighton 0-2 Manchester United
SEP 2023 PREMIER LEAGUE Manchester United 1-3 Brighton

MANCHESTER UNITED
JAN 2026 PREMIER LEAGUE Burnley 2-2 Manchester United
JAN 2026 PREMIER LEAGUE Leeds 1-1 Manchester United
DEC 2025 PREMIER LEAGUE Manchester United 1-1 Wolves
DEC 2025 PREMIER LEAGUE Manchester United 1-0 Newcastle
DEC 2025 PREMIER LEAGUE Aston Villa 2-1 Manchester United

BRIGHTON
JAN 2026 PREMIER LEAGUE Manchester City 1-1 Brighton
JAN 2026 PREMIER LEAGUE Brighton 2-0 Burnley
DEC 2025 PREMIER LEAGUE West Ham 2-2 Brighton
DEC 2025 PREMIER LEAGUE Arsenal 2-1 Brighton
DEC 2025 PREMIER LEAGUE Brighton 0-0 Sunderland

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It’s all to play for Fabian Hürzeler, with Brighton just six points off the top four, and just three adrift of the top six in a very tightly packed league. The Seagulls have won just one of their last eight games, although they’ve visited Liverpool, Arsenal and City during that run and missed a penalty in a frantic 2-2 draw with West Ham.

Brighton managed to get on the scoresheet at the Emirates (when Yakuba Minteh changed the game as a half-time substitute), and the Etihad when they really ought to have scored more than just one goal, so they will be confident of challenging a United side that have struggled defensively all season at least.

Fabian Hurzeler’s side made it to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup last season so we can expect a reasonably strong side and an open encounter wouldn’t surprise at all. Over 3.5 goals would have landed in midweek and should give backers a good run for their money with starsports.bet.

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