Manchester United and Brighton have both travelled to Wembley, as they look to secure a place in the FA Cup Final. Manchester City have already secured their spot, after Riyad Mahrez’s hat-trick saw Pep Guardiola’s side cruise past Sheffield United on Saturday.
United have recently been knocked out of the Europa League, after conceding two late own goals to bottle a 2-0 lead in the first leg – and then going on to lose 3-0 in Sevilla in a game that featured countless defensive disasters from Erik Ten Hag’s men.
As Premier League outfits, both teams entered the FA Cup in the third round. United cruised past Everton in their first game, before beating Reading by the same 3-1 scoreline next time out. The same scoreline was seen in the fifth round, as the Red Devils defeated West Ham to secure a place in the quarterfinals – and believe it or not, United came from behind to beat Fulham by 3-1 in that game! That’s a trend that Erik Ten Hag will be looking to continue at Wembley on Sunday.
Brighton’s FA Cup campaign kicked off with a 5-1 demolition of Middlesbrough, which was followed up by a 2-1 win against an out-of-form Liverpool. They then went on to squeeze past Stoke City, before sending surprise package Grimsby Town out in the quarterfinals.
Team News
Bruno Fernandes will be available once more for the Reds, after missing out on United’s second leg tie against Sevilla due to suspension. Harry Maguire won’t be eligible though, and will sit this game out after accumulating too many yellow cards. Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane are also missing from the heart of United’s defence – so we’d expect to see Victor Lindelof and Luke Shaw starting.
Tyrell Malacia and Diogo Dalot are two options that Ten Hag could consider at left-back, as Aaron Wan-Bissaka seems to have nailed down the starting right-back spot lately. The Reds are also without Scott McTominay. Erik Ten Hag may also choose to drop David De Gea after a calamitous performance in midweek.
For Brighton, they’ll be without Tariq Lamptey and Jeremy Sarmiento – who have both sustained knee injuries. Jakub Moder is also absent through an ACL injury, while Evan Ferguson, Joel Veltman and Adam Lallana are also set to miss out.
Predicted Lineups
Brighton: Sanchez; Gross, Webster, Dunk, Estupinan; Caicedo, Mac Allister; March, Enciso, Mitoma; Welbeck
Manchester United: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Shaw, Malacia; Casemiro, Eriksen; Antony, Fernandes, Rashford; Weghorst
Where can I watch?
Coverage of this tie at Wembley starts at 4pm on BBC One – or BBC Two if you’re watching in Wales. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30pm on Sunday, 23 April 2023.
