Manchester United’s 2023/24 Premier League campaign draws to a close this weekend, with a trip to Brighton & Hove Albion in the last round of matches.
Securing a place in European competition for 2024/25 remains possible for the Reds during Sunday’s kick-off at the Amex Stadium, which will be the penultimate outing of the term, ahead of next week’s campaign-concluding Emirates FA Cup final appearance.
United can secure at least a place in next season’s UEFA Conference League on Sunday, but will need to better Newcastle United’s result at Brentford to stand a chance of leapfrogging the Magpies into seventh place.
The two clubs are level on 57 points after Wednesday’s 3-2 win for Ten Hag’s team at Old Trafford, but the north-east outfit have a much superior goal difference to ours. A Newcastle victory on Sunday would all but guarantee they finish ahead of us, but anything less would leave the door open for the Reds to overtake. Ending the season in sixth is not mathematically impossible, although extremely unlikely, as it would require a win that moves us above Newcastle and closes a 16-goal swing to Chelsea, who would have to lose their game at home to Bournemouth.
While a seventh-place finish would guarantee a Conference League spot, United could still play in the UEFA Europa League instead next season, should we beat Man City in next weekend’s FA Cup final.
THE OPPOSITION
Brighton will also have something to play for on the final day, as one of four clubs that could finish in 10th place, just inside the top half of the Premier League table.
The Seagulls currently hold that position, with 48 points from their 37 games, just ahead of Bournemouth on goal difference and two points clear of Crystal Palace and Wolves. De Zerbi has made it clear that the top 10 is the target for Brighton, as they look to achieve the feat for the third term in a row.
Like United, the south-coast side have had a number of injuries to deal with this season, while reaching the last 16 in both the Emirates FA Cup and UEFA Europa League. Their participation in the latter tournament marked their first-ever campaign in a European club football competition.
Brazilian forward Joao Pedro, a summer signing from Watford, has scored 20 goals in his first season at the club, and returned to the squad in midweek from a one-game absence.
TEAM NEWS
Erik ten Hag reported during Thursday’s press conference that Victor Lindelof and Raphael Varane had been back on the grass earlier in the day, and while it is unclear whether they will be available on the south coast, it seems the pair have a chance to return before the end of the season.
Harry Maguire, Anthony Martial, Mason Mount and Luke Shaw are all recent absentees without specified return dates as of yet, although it appears they will miss this weekend’s outing.
As for Brighton, Roberto De Zerbi is yet to hold his pre-match media briefing, but the Seagulls boss is waiting for news on the extent of captain Lewis Dunk’s knee injury, sustained in Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat to Chelsea.
The availability of fellow defender Joel Veltman is unclear, after he missed the Chelsea clash, while Jan Paul van Hecke is already confirmed to be out for Sunday. Pervis Estupinan, Evan Ferguson, Jack Hinshelwood, Solly March, James Milner and Kaoru Mitoma are also injured.
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