The curtains will come down on an underwhelming 2023-24 Premier League campaign for Manchester United when they travel to the Amex Stadium to face Brighton & Hove Albion in their final top-flight fixture on Sunday afternoon.
While the Red Devils still have an outside chance of qualifying for Europe, the Seagulls are seeking to avoid slipping into the bottom half of the table.
Match preview
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It was always going to be difficult for Brighton to replicate last season's memorable sixth-placed finish, considering the departure of a few star names last summer. Although they had aspirations of continuing their positive rise under Roberto De Zerbi, a host of injuries and an alarming drop-off in form has ultimately hindered their progress in 2023-24.
The Seagulls have won just three of their last 15 games across all competitions, including just two victories in their last 12 Premier League matches, and they have failed to score more than once across this entire run, drawing a blank in front of goal on seven occasions.
Brighton found a way to grind out a 1-0 home win over Aston Villa before claiming a point from a 1-1 draw at Newcastle last weekend, but they came up short against a reinvigorated Chelsea outfit on Wednesday. Danny Welbeck's 97th-minute strike was only a consolation, as earlier goals from Cole Palmer and Christopher Nkunku helped the Blues secure a 2-1 win at the Amex.
De Zerbi's side cannot finish higher than their current position of 10th this season, but if they drop points on Sunday, they could slip into the bottom half and allow at least one of 11th-placed Bournemouth - sitting level on points with Brighton - 12th-placed Crystal Palace or 13th-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers - both just two points further back - to leapfrog them in the table.
Brighton have lost their final Premier League game in four of the last six campaigns, but they have enjoyed playing against Man United in recent years, as they have won each of their last four top-flight meetings; the last team to beat the Red Devils in five successive league matches was Norwich City between 1988 and 1990.
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Amidst ongoing uncertainty over the future of manager Erik ten Hag, Man United are still in danger of being condemned to their lowest league finish and collecting their lowest points haul in 34 years heading into their final Premier League match of the season.
The Red Devils have won 17, drawn six and lost a club-record 14 of their 37 league games this term and have picked up just 57 points, 11 points fewer than Aston Villa in fourth and a staggering 31 points fewer than their rivals Manchester City at the summit.
After losing back-to-back matches without scoring against Crystal Palace and Arsenal, Man United secured a vital 3-2 victory in their final Old Trafford fixture of the season against Newcastle United on Wednesday, with Kobbie Mainoo, Amad Diallo and Rasmus Hojlund all on target to boost the Red Devils' European hopes.
Ten Hag's men are currently languishing in eighth place and sit level on points with Newcastle in seventh. They go into the final day needing to better the Magpies' result at Brentford to secure a place in next season's Europa Conference League. If not, they will be required to beat Man City in the FA Cup final to secure European football for 2024-25.
Success on Sunday is not a given for Man United, though, as they have failed to win any of their last five league games on the road, while they have suffered defeat in four of their six top-flight visits to Brighton (67%) - their highest loss rate away against any team in the division.
Team News
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Brighton captain Lewis Dunk was forced off at half time in midweek with a knee injury and is set to join Solly March (knee), Kaoru Mitoma (back), Jack Hinshelwood (foot), Pervis Estupinan, Evan Ferguson (both ankle), James Milner and Jan Paul van Hecke (both thigh) in the treatment room.
Joel Veltman was absent in midweek with an unspecified injury and he remains a doubt for Sunday. Tariq Lamptey could therefore continue at right-back, while the absence of Dunk is set to see Igor Julio partner Adam Webster in central defence, with Valentin Barco operating at left-back.
Joao Pedro is set to start in attack and will be looking to add to his team-high 20 goals across all competitions. Former Man United man Welbeck is also pushing to start, while Barcelona loanee Ansu Fati and Adam Lallana - who is leaving the club this summer - will both hope to feature in some capacity.
As for Man United, Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire (both muscle), Tyrell Malacia (knee) and Mason Mount (unspecified) are all set to miss this weekend's match due to injury, as is Anthony Martial (groin) who seems to have already played his final game for the club as he is out of contract in June.
Raphael Varane, who has confirmed that he is leaving the club this summer, and Victor Lindelof have recently been dealing with respective muscle and hamstring injuries, but the defensive pair have been back on the grass this week and could be in a position to return to the matchday squad on Sunday.
After being rested in midweek, Hojlund could return to the first XI, with Bruno Fernandes moving from a false nine position into his favoured number 10 role, while both Lisandro Martinez and Marcus Rashford will be hoping to feature again after recovering from injury to make cameo substitute appearances against Newcastle.
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Verbruggen; Lamptey, Webster, Igor, Barco; Gilmour, Gross; Buonanotte, Pedro, Adingra; Welbeck
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
Onana; Wan-Bissaka, Casemiro, Evans, Dalot; Amrabat, Mainoo; Diallo, Fernandes, Garnacho; Hojlund
We say: Brighton & Hove Albion 2-2 Manchester United
Both teams have struggled for consistency heading down the home straight and have both looked vulnerable at the back, so an end-to-end contest with plenty of goalmouth action could be on the cards this weekend.
There is more riding on this fixture for Conference League-chasing Man United, but their recent record against the Seagulls leaves little to be desired and we can see the hosts frustrating the Red Devils to claim a share of the spoils.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
