TipResumen

BRIGHTON

Keeping Brighton in the Premier League for a second season in a row was a fantastic achievement for Chris Hughton and the work done in the 2017/18 season was credited with little flirtation with going down to the Championship. No one will have been resting on their laurels in the summer as Brighton look to consolidate their place in the top flight, but it could potentially be a difficult second season at this level. There was money invested in the playing staff to try and help Brighton improve this season, but Hughton will be demanding much better than what he saw in the 2-0 defeat at Watford last weekend. Scoring goals was an issue for Brighton last season and their lack of a goal threat at Vicarage Road would have been a concern, but the home form is where any survival bid will place its foundations. Last season Brighton finished with a solid 7-8-4 record at the Amex Stadium and Hughton will be looking for something similar this time around. Brighton have won 1 of their last 11 games played in all competitions and they have fallen to defeat in 7 of those including the last 3 Premier League games in a row. The Seagulls did end a run of 3 consecutive games without a home victory by beating Manchester United 1-0 in their most recent Premier League game at the Amex Stadium. Bruno Saltor, Florin Andone and Jose Izquierdo are all going to be late decisions as to their involvement in the squad this weekend.



MANCHESTER UNITED

All didn't seem to be well at Old Trafford at the close of the summer transfer window with rumours Jose Mourinho was unhappy at the lack of signings he was given. Talk of falling out with Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba also dominated the headlines, but the fans would have gone away from Old Trafford happy after Manchester United beat Leicester City 2-1 to open the season. Comments made after the win by Pogba were not seen in a positive light, especially after being given the captaincy for the Leicester City game, and more headlines have since come out after the complete break down of the relationship between Pogba and the manager. That is a concern for Manchester United who are hoping to get much closer to the Premier League title this time around and doing that will mean avoiding dropping the silly away points they did in the 2017/18 season. Manchester United ended last season with just 1 win from their final 4 games in all competitions which also saw them lose the FA Cup Final so getting back to winning ways was an important way to start the season. They failed to win either of their last 2 away Premier League games at the end of the last campaign and Manchester United also failed to score in either game at Brighton and West Ham United. Sergio Romero, Marco Rojo, Antonio Valencia, Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera are not expected to take part in this one. Both Phil Jones and Jesse Lingard could be involved, while Romelu Lukaku may return to the starting eleven.



HEAD TO HEAD

Manchester United beat Brighton twice at Old Trafford in the Premier League and FA Cup Quarter Final last season. However it was Brighton who beat Manchester United 1-0 here and that means they are unbeaten in the last 3 home games against the 20 time English Champions and have won 2 of those games.



PREDICTION

By hook or by crook all Manchester United fans just wanted the team to help put the poor summer transfer window behind them and earn the victory over Leicester City to open the 2018/19 season. It was a tough night at Old Trafford but the players made a very good start and then had to battle for the victory over The Foxes. Ultimately the three points were most important although the Paul Pogba relationship breakdown with Jose Mourinho is a concern for the dressing room harmony. The comments made by Pogba after the win over Leicester City have led to further headlines during the week that the two men are barely on speaking terms at the moment and it does feel Manchester United could be one poor result away from things spiralling out of control. That is a real concern when you consider backing Manchester United to win any game at the moment, but I do think they can get some revenge for an embarrassing 1-0 defeat at the Amex Stadium back in early May. With the likes of Romelu Lukaku, Ashley Young and possibly Jesse Lingard back, Manchester United have a group of players who should be good enough to win games like this even though they were beaten in this Stadium last time they visited. On that occasion Manchester United had two or three very good chances to lead before Brighton scored with a rare foray into the final third and the home team will have to be a lot better than on the opening weekend to beat Manchester United again. Brighton were comfortably beaten by Watford last weekend and they barely created anything of note in the fixture. They have been a much better team at home in the Premier League, but 3 of their 4 home losses last season came against sides who finished in the top five. Generally those clubs had a little too much quality for Brighton and I do think Manchester United would have been another to win here if they had scored first at the Amex Stadium in early May when the chances came their way. This time they will have Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku at the end of those and I do think the dressing room are still on the same page as the management staff at the moment. There is no denying Brighton can make life difficult for an opponent if they get the chance to dig in and not fall behind too early, but they have to be a lot better than last week. I am not sure their new signings will have bedded in just yet, and I do think Manchester United will find a way to win here. All 4 of Brighton's home losses came by two or more goals last season and Manchester United won half of their 10 away wins by the same margin. I will back Manchester United on the Asian Handicap which will give us a full payout if they win by two or more goals, but still provide a positive return if Manchester United win by a single goal margin.