Man United vs Brighton Preview
Man United are leaky at Old Trafford and Brighton have been high-scoring early in the 2026/27 campaign. These high-scoring sides can get amongst the goals in the EFL Cup.
Key Stats - Goals Standout
- Man United have seen over 3.5 goals in 3 of their last 4 matches.
- Man United have seen BTTS in 7 of their last 9 home games.
- Brighton have seen over 4.5 goals in their last 2 away games.
H2H - Recent High-Scorers
Man United have a 23-10 advantage against Brighton, alongside five draws.
Man United Unconvincing in Defence
Man United have long-term defensive problems and have conceded at least once in eight of their previous nine matches.
The Red Devils fell to a 2-0 opening match defeat at Hull and responded with a 5-2 home win over Ipswich. Michael Carrick’s side also gave up the lead twice and drew 2-2 at Everton in the Premier League.
United thumped Sabah Baku 4-0 at Old Trafford in the Champions League. The Manchester outfit had 3.55 XG, were 3-0 up at half time and added a late fourth.
Carrick’s team lost at home for the first time since April after a 1-0 Manchester Derby defeat to Man City. United had 1 XG, 16 shots and conceded the winner with 30 minutes remaining.
Brighton Playing on the Front Foot
Fabian Hurzeler’s Brighton are in strong recent form, winning six of their last nine in all competitions. The Sussex side have played attacking football and scored 25 goals in that period.
Brighton started the new Premier League campaign by thrashing Aston Villa 4-0 at home. A 4-3 defeat at Chelsea followed.
The Seagulls hit back with a two-match unbeaten run, and held Leeds to a 1-1 home draw. Hurzeler’s side had plenty of chances in that game with 2.2 XG and 20 shots.
The south coast team sealed another big win on Sunday and thrashed Coventry 5-0 away. Charalampos Kostoulas scored after 35 minutes and Malick Yalcouye, Pascal Gross, Lewis Dunk and Yasin Ayari struck in the second half.
Predicted Starting Lineups & Team News
Man United (4-2-3-1): Karl Darlow; Noussair Mazraoui, Ayden Heaven, Leny Yoro , Patrick Dorgu; Andrey Santos, Kobbie Mainoo; Joshua Zirkzee, Mason Mount, Marcus Rashford; Benjamin Sesko
Midfielders Carlos Baleba and Manuel Ugarte, winger Amad Diallo and defender Matthijs de Ligt are injured and unavailable.
Luke Shaw is likely to return to the squad. Michael Carrick explained the defender’s absence before the Man City match and said:
"Luke is not quite ready, but he is very close. It’s very small but, unfortunately, not for today."
Brighton (4-2-3-1): Jason Steele; Costinha, Luka Vuskovic, Pascal Struijk, Jaouen Hadjam; Chema Andres, Pascal Gross; Femi Azeez, Matt O'Riley, Ibrahim Osman; Promise David
Midfielder Jack Hinshelwood and defensive pair Michael Svoboda and Mats Wieffer are also ruled out due to injury.
Attackers Evan Ferguson, Yankuba Minteh, Karou Mitoma, Stefanos Tzimas and Zadok Yohanna are also injured.
Fabian Hurzeler provided a recent update on Mitoma’s recovery after he returned to training and said, “I expect him (to be available) more after the international break.”