When you have absolutely insane fixture congestion like we have had this season, all the time and every week/weekend, I’m surprised that we haven’t seen even more player injuries. As we flip from recapping Manchester United’s 3-1 win at home over Southampton FC to previewing the home match against Brighton & Hove Albion (because again it’s a very quick turnaround to doing so) pretty much nothing has changed from the last Team News/Preview that we just did, only a couple days ago.
That’s surprising, because you would think there would be even more injuries going on, and thus we would need to discuss them. But nothing has changed with the United fitness situation, from last time out. They will get Diogo Dalot back from suspension though when they host Brighton.
It’s funny because we were initially led to believe that the extreme fixture pile-up was only done for the 2022-23 season, in order to accommodate the unprecedented mid-season World Cup in Qatar.
But so much for that, as it’s now here to stay.
Similarly, the concept of “festive fixtures” connotates the idea that we only see an increased number of winter games around Christmas and New Year’s.
It actually runs all the way through to February, and it starts much earlier in December than what could be considered “Christmas time.”
As for United, yesterday was definitely trending towards major embarrassment/yet another new low as they found themselves down, at home to the league’s absolute worst side in Southampton FC as they entered the 82′.
And that was when Amad Diallo, this season’s breakout player of the year saved the day. Diallo rattled off a hat trick, and in doing so, solidified his chances to win club player of the year for 2024-25. It’s kind of like the season that Kobbie Mainoo had last year.
Manchester United Starting XI Prediction vs Brighton
Andre Onana; Diogo Dalot, Matthijs De Ligt, Lisandro Martinez; Manuel Ugarte, Kobbie Mainoo, Tyrell Malacia; Amad Diallo, Christian Eriksen, Bruno Fernandes; Rasmus Hojlund
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.