How can we get a result against Manchester United? – Charlie Haffenden analyses all the tactical pos
As Brighton fans, the last few weeks has been a rollercoaster of emotions. Some have chanted “we are going down” before chanting “we are going up” in a matter of moments, we’ve had heroic results against English giants and we have witnessed a lot of rumours regarding who will be departing the club. However, despite all of the sensations we’ve felt over the last few weeks there is one thing that interjected all of this and that was our Albion awards dinner at the end of last week.
The Albion awards dinner is a way of celebrating all of the successes that we have achieved over the past season and a way of forgetting all of the negative moments that we have struggled with. Awards such as the ‘Fan of the Year’, and the ‘Albion in the Community Prize’ were up for grabs and it was great to see so many people receiving recognition for their hard work. After, the main awards were handed out and there was a sense of triumph to witness our players attaining their accolades. The main awards were given out to Lewis Dunk, who won the Players’ Player of the Year, and Pascal Groß who took home the fan’s Player of the Year prize. It is nice to say that finally these amazing players have something to show for their incredible efforts.
It was an enjoyable evening, but now, though, we switch our focus to what’s ahead, and that is a massive game against Manchester United. We are currently five points clear of safety with three games to go and have a slightly superior goal difference to the majority of the teams below us. However, with the three fixtures we have left, (United, Liverpool and City) that statistic may become irrelevant. In my view, if we get one point from Friday’s match I believe we are safe. Obviously, it depends on the results of the teams around us whether we could already be safe, but I just feel as if the one extra point would put our minds at rest. Unfortunately, I’m not hugely confident that tomorrow will be the night that gets us the vital draw, but, as we saw when West Brom pulled out a surprise result against the Red Devils a few weeks ago, no result is certain until the final whistle sounds.
One thing that could make a good result achievable is the news breaking of Romelu Lukaku sustaining an injury in training earlier this week, therefore leading to his removal from the match squad. The absence of Lukaku will for sure bring relief to Dunk and Duffy who struggled to keep the Belgian at bay last time we faced United, and consequently a little pressure will be lifted off of their shoulders. Of course, they’re not short of striking options, in fact, they have world class attackers such as Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and Alexis Sanchez who will be available for selection, though I just feel as if Lukaku is a bigger threat. The twenty-four-year-old may not be better overall than the likes I’ve just mentioned, but the form he has been in this season, especially against the smaller clubs, is extremely frightening. He is the sixth top scorer in the league with sixteen goals and has hit the back of the net every one-hundred and seventy-nine minutes. So, understandably I am glad that we won’t be facing him and hopefully it will give us a better chance of gaining some points.
Moving onto the Albion team news, and it’s all good in our camp with our only forced absentee being Steve Sidwell who is still out with a long-term ankle injury. Davy Pröpper returns after a three-match suspension and everyone else will be competing for a place in the starting eleven. In my view, Beram Kayal hasn’t been too bad as a temporary replacement for Pröpper throughout his ban, thought I just feel as if it will benefit to have the Dutchman back to start. He offers a little more on the attack, is a little more different compared to Stephens than Kayal was —therefore providing us with a range of abilities — and is more experienced in these types of big matches. The same can be said about José Izquierdo being ahead of Solly March in the lineup. The Colombian has more experience in a top league and has had opportunities on the big stage before with his national team. Furthermore, he has proved himself with some fantastic form of late and I just believe that it would be a little unfair to drop him. No disrespect to March of course, he is a great player, though I just feel as if he would be great to have as an option off the bench in a match as crucial as this.
On the other side, and a little more of a difficult decision when selecting our right winger. Anthony Knockaert has made a couple of appearances recently after his suspension and has impressed, however, so has Jürgen Locadia when placed on the flank. For me, it all hinges on our important decision of who will play in the advanced striker position. This is a challenging choice to make because Glenn Murray has been great this season and funnily enough has a better goal-to-minute ratio than both Romelu Lukaku and Alvaro Morata. But, for this game, I think we should have Locadia as our striker. Firstly, he hasn’t really had many opportunities as of yet to impress, secondly, he offers a lot more pace on the counter attack, which incidentally will be our most likely choice of advance, and finally he provides a bit more flexibility to make tactical changes throughout the game. You could say this regarding any fixture of course, but I can sense that Locadia will be urging to get out there and impress; especially against a team as great as Manchester United. It will also enable us to have Anthony Knockaert playing from the off and as we have seen throughout his time at the club, he is someone who never gives up and has incredible perseverance in any situation he may face. He just doesn’t stop running. He’ll be in the defenders face bewildering them with which way he’ll go next, and then he’ll be on the back foot working hard to get the Albion back in possession. Personally, I would love to see Anthony start due to the entertainment factor he arises and the suitability he has for a game like this. - It would be silly not to have him on the pitch.
The defence, well, that pretty much picks itself at this stage. The only position, you could debate is the right back spot, and for me it has to be Ezequiel Schelotto against United. Don’t get me wrong, I love Bruno and enjoy watching him play, though, we need someone who is a little sharper on Friday, someone who can track down the runs of the opposition’s rapid attack. As I’ve said, the rest of the back four should remain the same - Bong, Dunk and Duffy - and Maty Ryan should retain his place in goal. They simply can’t be dropped.
In conclusion, the match against Manchester United will be a huge challenge and a point-gaining result will likely only be possible if we make the right team selection and choose the right tactics. Hughton coming up against a tactical genius in Mourinho once more will be great to see and personally, I can’t wait.
If we play our cards right, and maybe with a little bit of luck, who knows, could we get a win against one of the world’s best sides? We’ll just have to wait and see...
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