Manchester United vs Brighton & Hove Albion
English Premier League, KO: 14:00 Aug 7, 2022, Old Trafford
After an eventful preseason, Manchester United begin their Premier League campaign with a home clash with Brighton & Hove Albion. The Seagulls are tricky opponents, but United tend to win on opening weekends and should have the edge here.
Manchester United come into the new season desperate to put last term’s campaign behind them. Dutch manager Erik Ten Hag was appointed to usher in a new era of change at the club with the arrival of Lisandro Martinez and Tyrell Malacia expected to address some issues in the squad.
However, on the eve of the new Premier League season, Manchester United are in the news for all the wrong reasons with Cristiano Ronaldo’s desire to leave dominating the headlines. There is also the matter of Anthony Martial’s injury which puts the manager in the conundrum of whether to play Ronaldo on Sunday amidst all the exit talk.
All these issues have dampened what could be considered a decent preseason campaign for Manchester United. They suffered just one defeat in six friendly matches, claiming comfortable victories over the likes of Liverpool and Crystal Palace along the way.
Brighton & Hove Albion were one of the surprise teams last term as they finished ninth having finished in the bottom six in their first four seasons in the Premier League. They claimed several major scalps along the way, the biggest of which was a 4-0 victory over Manchester United back in May.
The task for Brighton heading into the new campaign will be to at least match last season's feat. Yves Bissouma may have left for Spurs, but the Seagulls have held on to most of their key players while new signing Julio Enciso is causing a buzz of excitement at the Amex Stadium.
Like Manchester United, preseason was also decent for Brighton who suffered just one defeat in five friendly matches. Their last outing was an impressive 5-0 victory over Spanish side Espanyol with Leandro Trossard netting a hat-trick.
How the bookies view it
Manchester United are considered overwhelming favourites among the bookies with a home win priced at 6/10 by William Hill. A win for Brighton is valued at 5/1 by Betfred while bet365 is offering odds of 16/5 for a draw.
Recent head to head
Manchester United may have lost 4-0 to Brighton last season but their overall record in this fixture is solid having won the previous seven meetings. The Red Devils have also won the last four fixtures at Old Trafford with last season’s clash ending 2-0.
Players to watch
Given Martial’s injury and the uncertainty around Ronaldo, Manchester United will look to Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford to provide the spark in attack. Sancho impressed in preseason and is priced at 3/1 by bet365 to score anytime while Unibet is offering 5/2 on Rashford in the same market.
Leandro Trossard has become one of the most important players for Brighton and is coming off a solid preseason campaign. The forward scored one of the goals in last season’s win at the Amex Stadium and could be backed at 11/2 by Paddy Power to find the net on Saturday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Manchester United and Brighton have plenty of attacking quality and both teams could be backed to score at evens with William Hill. Over 2.5 goals could also be considered at 10/11 with SBK while over 3.5 goals is valued at 12/5 with bet365.
Given the minimal odds for a straight Manchester United victory, a win and over 2.5 goals should offer more value at 8/5 with bet365.
This English Premier League match between Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion will be played on Aug 7, 2022 and kick off at 14:00. Check below for our tipsters best Manchester United vs Brighton & Hove Albion prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
