In filling out your Manchester United starting lineup prediction for the match against Brighton & Hove Albion this weekend, you already know one regular first team player (Antony) who won’t be playing a part.
It is quite possible that he never plays for the club again, and we covered why here, here and here. Jadon Sancho almost certainly won’t be in the starting lineup against Brighton & Hove Albion, and we covered why here, here and here.
Brighton & Hove Albion at Manchester United FYIs
Kickoff: Sat. Sept. 16,ย 3pm, Old Trafford, Manchester, UK
United Preview Material:ย Starting XI Predictionย ย Team News
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America:ย LINK
PL Position, Form: Manchester United 11th, 6 pts, LWLWย ย Brightonย 6th, 9 pts, WLWW
Google Result Probability: Manchester Unitedย 44%ย ย Drawย 25%ย Brightonย 21%
Indeed the United final third is very much in flux now going forward, and one should expect Alejandro Garnacho to be more a part of the plan. Ditto for Facundo Pellistri, although with him that is not going to happen overnight.
Hopefully, Rasmus Hojlund lives up to the hype (and price tag). Antony may soon join the likes of Mason Greenwood and Cristiano Ronaldo as forwards whose issues off-the-pitch problems made them utterly unfit for selection on-the-pitch.
And those harsh realities eventually sealed their exits from the club. However, Sancho still has a chance to earn and win a place in the team, eventually.
As Michael McDonald sang in the Kenny Loggins tune This is It: “And you think that maybe itโs over / Only if you want it to be…who makes a choice in how it goes.”
As for Antony, well, it’s very tough to say what will happen to him as his situation is very serious, as it deals with issues far beyond the scope of this article.
Anyway, here is the rest of the team selection prediction for Saturday:
Manchester United Starting XI Prediction vs Brighton (4-3-3)
Andre Onana; Aaron Wan-Bissaka; Lisandro Martinez, Victor Lindelof, Diogo Dalot; Casemiro, Sofyan Amrabat.ย Alejandro Garnacho; Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, Rasmus Hojlund.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager ofย The Sports Bank.ย Heโs also theย author of โTransatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,โ andย โNo, I Canโt Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.โ
Heโs written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and theย Chicago Tribune.ย He regularly appears onย NTD Newsย andย WGN News Now.ย Follow the websiteย onย Twitterย andย Instagram.
