Manchester United travel to the Amex Stadium to face Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League on Saturday lunchtime.
The Red Devils were seemingly heading for a goalless stalemate in their opening top-flight fixture against Fulham last Friday, until summer signing Joshua Zirkzee came on as a substitute to net an 87th-minute winner and seal a slender 1-0 victory for Erik ten Hag's side.
Brighton, meanwhile, have made an impressive start to life under 31-year-old head coach Fabian Hurzeler as they cruised to a 3-0 victory over 10-man Everton at Goodison Park last weekend.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between the two sides.
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Head-to-head record
Previous meetings: 33
Brighton wins: 7
Draws: 5
Man Utd wins: 21
Brighton and Man United have locked horns a total of 33 times across all competitions over the years, with the Red Devils dominating this fixture with 21 victories compared to the Seagulls' seven.
Only five matches between these two teams have ended as a draw, while none of their 14 Premier League meetings have finished level, with Man United winning eight to Brighton's six.
You have to go back 115 years for the very first encounter between these two clubs, with Man United securing a narrow 1-0 victory in the first round of the 1909 FA Cup, before going on to win the prestigious competition for the first time in their history.
Man United won seven and drew two of their first nine meetings with Brighton before the Seagulls celebrated their first triumph over the Red Devils in November 1982, a 1-0 top-flight win courtesy of a goal from Peter Ward.
Brighton's relegation from the top tier that same season and subsequent struggles to return meant that they only faced Man United five times in cup competitions during a 34-year period, and the Seagulls failed to prevail on each occasion.
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Indeed, Brighton played out a 2-2 draw with Man United in the 1983 FA Cup final, but were thumped 4-0 in the replay, while they drew 1-1 in an EFL Cup second-round first-leg tie in September 1992 before losing the reverse fixture 1-0 a month later; the Seagulls were also beaten 1-0 by the Red Devils in the fourth round of the 1993 FA Cup.
Seventeen years later, Brighton faced Man United for the first time as a Premier League club, but an own goal from Lewis Dunk helped the Red Devils win 1-0 at Old Trafford, before strikes from Romelu Lukaku and Nemanja Matic sealed a 2-0 win for Jose Mourinho's side in the 2018 FA Cup quarter-finals.
Brighton got their revenge just two months later, with Pascal Gross scoring the only goal in a 1-0 home win in the Premier League, before coming out on top at the Amex again at the start of the 2018-19 campaign, winning 3-2 thanks to goals from Gross, Glenn Murray and Shane Duffy.
Man United would go on to win the next seven meetings in all competitions, including six Premier League triumphs in which they scored at least two goals, but the tables have since turned in recent years as Brighton have won four of the last five Premier League encounters.
A memorable 4-0 home victory in May 2022 under Graham Potter and a 3-1 away victory in September 2023 under Roberto De Zerbi were two standout results for the Seagulls, but Man United picked up maximum points in the most recent meeting between the two teams, with goals from Diogo Dalot and Rasmus Hojlund securing a 2-0 away win in their final league match of the 2023-24 campaign.
Last 20 meetings
May 19, 2024: Brighton 0-2 Man Utd (Premier League)
Sep 16, 2023: Man Utd 1-3 Brighton (Premier League)
May 04, 2023: Brighton 1-0 Man Utd (Premier League)
Apr 23, 2023: Brighton 0-0 Man Utd (FA Cup Semi-Finals)
Aug 07, 2022: Man Utd 1-2 Brighton (Premier League)
May 07, 2022: Brighton 4-0 Man Utd (Premier League)
Feb 15, 2022: Man Utd 2-0 Brighton (Premier League)
Apr 04, 2021: Man Utd 2-1 Brighton (Premier League)
Sep 30, 2020: Brighton 0-3 Man Utd (EFL Cup Fourth Round)
Sep 26, 2020: Brighton 2-3 Man Utd (Premier League)
Jun 30, 2020: Brighton 0-3 Man Utd (Premier League)
Nov 10, 2019: Man Utd 3-1 Brighton (Premier League)
Jan 19, 2019: Man Utd 2-1 Brighton (Premier League)
Aug 19, 2018: Brighton 3-2 Man Utd (Premier League)
May 04, 2018: Brighton 1-0 Man Utd (Premier League)
Mar 17, 2018: Man Utd 2-0 Brighton (FA Cup Quarter-Final)
Nov 25, 2017: Man Utd 1-0 Brighton (Premier League)
Jan 23, 1993: Man Utd 1-0 Brighton (FA Cup Fourth Round)
Oct 7, 1992: Man Utd 1-0 Brighton (EFL Cup Second Round Second Leg)
Sep 27, 1992: Brighton 1-1 Man Utd (EFL Cup Second Round First Leg)
Last 10 Premier League meetings
May 19, 2024: Brighton 0-2 Man Utd (Premier League)
Sep 16, 2023: Man Utd 1-3 Brighton (Premier League)
May 04, 2023: Brighton 1-0 Man Utd (Premier League)
Aug 07, 2022: Man Utd 1-2 Brighton (Premier League)
May 07, 2022: Brighton 4-0 Man Utd (Premier League)
Feb 15, 2022: Man Utd 2-0 Brighton (Premier League)
Apr 04, 2021: Man Utd 2-1 Brighton (Premier League)
Sep 26, 2020: Brighton 2-3 Man Utd (Premier League)
Jun 30, 2020: Brighton 0-3 Man Utd (Premier League)
Nov 10, 2019: Man Utd 3-1 Brighton (Premier League)
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Oliver Thomas
