Man Utd vs Brighton preview: Kick-off time, team news, how to follow, stream | Football news
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim warns of a ‘rollercoaster’ going on as the club tries to rebuild.
WHO: Manchester United vs Brighton
What: English Premier League
Where: Old Trafford, Manchester, United Kingdom
When: 2pm (16:00 GMT) on Sunday
Follow Al Jazeera’s live build-up followed by our text and photo coverage of the game.
Ruben Amorim has warned that Manchester United’s season will continue to be a “rollercoaster of games” as the players learn to adapt to his system following their surprise 3-1 win against Southampton.
Premier League club Southampton were on the verge of a shock win at Old Trafford on Thursday before Amad Diallo scored a 12th-minute hat-trick to turn the game on its head.
A 2-2 draw with Liverpool and an encouraging FA Cup victory for Arsenal followed.
Amorim, who took over from the sacked Erik ten Hag in November, had previously warned of a “storm to come” ahead of a run of six defeats in eight games.
Aged 22 years and 189 days, Amad is the youngest ever player to score a hat-trick for Man Utd at Old Trafford in the Premier League ✨ pic.twitter.com/Bmd1a6CXfd
– Premier League (@premierleague) January 16, 2025
The 39-year-old Portuguese manager predicts more chaos following a poor display against struggling Saints. Despite the win, United, who host Brighton on Sunday, are still in 12th place in the Premier League.
“I think it will be difficult until the end of the season,” said Amorim. “That rollercoaster will be less. Then it depends on the time you have to train. We’re still at it [FA] Cup and we have UEFA Europa League games.
“Then it is important to focus on next Thursday as well [when Scottish giants Rangers visit Old Trafford] to win and try to be in the top 8.”
He added: “We practiced seven times together in 14, 15 games. It’s really hard, but we have to keep going and try to overcome it. Sometimes we play well, sometimes we play badly.”
The man of the moment 🏆⚽️
🫶 @Amaddiallo_19 #MUFC || #MUNSO pic.twitter.com/5YTq79IL6U
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) January 16, 2025
Amorim admitted that his team did not play well against Southampton and pointed out that many players were tired, including Manuel Ugarte, whose goal at the end of the first half gave the visitors the lead.
“You [the media] focus on what I said about Ugarte,” he said. “Ugarte was tired because he did a good job against Liverpool.
“If you look at the game against Arsenal, maybe Ugarte and Bruno [Fernandes] they were the best players against Liverpool.
“They didn’t play against Newcastle. I think that happens to all players in the Premier League.”
Manchester United club news
Diogo Dalot returns from a one-match ban, but Mason Mount and Luke Shaw remain out through injury.
The midfielder may give Amorim a chance to think as Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte both play against Southampton due to fatigue.
Brighton club news
Former Manchester City midfielder James Milner misses out through injury. Ferdi Kadioglu is also sidelined with a knock, but Georginio Rutter could return to the starting 11 for Ipswich.
Head to head
Brighton will become only the second team to win three consecutive Premier League away games against Manchester United if they take all three points on Sunday.
The other side to do this is Manchester City, who have won it twice.
It has been a good run overall for the Seagulls, who have won five of their last six games against the Red Devils.
