Brighton & Hove Albion vs Manchester United prediction, odds and preview

Brighton & Hove Albion and Manchester United will meet in the Premier League on Thursday night in a rematch of last month’s FA Cup semi-final.

United won the cup game and drew level with Brighton, who began the Erik ten Hag era at Old Trafford with a stunning 2-1 victory in the first week of the season.

Since then, the Red Devils have figured themselves out and are solidly in control of the hunt for a top-four berth, but they must be careful of a Brighton team capable of blowing anyone away in their pursuit of European football of their own.

Last time out, Roberto De Zerbi’s team thrashed Wolverhampton Wanderers 6-1, while the Red Devils thwarted Aston Villa’s European dreams with a 1-0 victory.

Despite a few surprises in his team selection at the weekend, Brighton manager De Zerbi received exactly the reaction he was looking for after the Seagulls’ midweek defeat to relegation-battling Nottingham Forest, as Wolves returned home with a hammering.

Brighton are currently in eighth place, but they have as much as three games in hand on some of the clubs around them and may move up to fifth – above Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool – if all of their games go well.

After blowing a two-goal lead to draw with Tottenham Hotspur in midweek, Erik ten Hag’s side did not falter this time, as they remain in fourth place in the table, two points behind Newcastle United, who have played one more game.

Given their Europa League defeat at the hands of Sevilla, Man United must secure Champions League qualification through their league position, and while Ten Hag’s men are normally an unbreakable force at home, it is a different story on the road.