On matchday 2, when Brighton & Hove Albion hosted Manchester United at the AMEX Stadium, Erik ten Jah was manager of the Red Devils. That game, which ended 2-1, was symbolic of the struggles that the most successful team in Premier League history were facing with the Dutchman as their gaffer.

Granted, Fabian Hürzeler was a new manager in the Premier League with the bounce that new managers have which allow them secure big results in a new league, but it was an embarrassment to Man United. That also happened to be their fifth loss to the Seagulls in seven matches, which is something that had never happened in the history of both teams facing off against each other—they have only faced off 34 times since 1909 and United have won 21 times.

It is also worthy of note that ten Hag was the manager for four of those five losses which is why Manchester United fans will have some hope for this match now that Ruben Amorim is at the helm of affairs.

Speaking of Amorim—United’s fortunes have improved since he took over. They are still far from their dominant selves or the team they used to be under Ole Gunnar Solksjær, the last manager who is universally acclaimed as being the only one to make United play in a defined manner. Still, teams now know that they have to prepare a lot more to face United else they get run over.

Marcus Rashford has seen a resurgence as he now looks like the player whose 17 league goals helped push United to third place in ten Hag’s first season. He has not hit half of those numbers yet, but the feeling that he could do double figures by the end of the season under Amorim is now commonplace among analysts and fans alike unless he’s shipped out in the January transfer window which could well happen.

Another player that is enjoying his football under the Portuguese manager is Ivoirien winger Amad Diallo, brought in from Atalanta BC in Italy in 2021. The 22-year-old’s rise has led to many a fan of the club hurling expletives at ten Hag, who is long gone. The Dutchman sent him on loan to Rangers in the Scottish Premiership and to Sunderland in the EFL Championship, and only integrated him into the team this season. Still, he did not give the young winger too many chances and now that he is getting a run of games under Amorim, the club’s fans are seeing what they have been missing including the equaliser in possibly the match of the season last weekend, a 2-2 draw against title favourites Liverpool.

These, and more, are reasons why Hürzeler may not find it easy to defeat Manchester United this time around. Still the Seagulls are above the Red Devils on the Premier League 2024/25 standings, which should count for something as they travel to Manchester for the return leg of their tie.

The match promises to be exciting and fans will be tripping over each other for the tickets to the game. Read on for more information on how to secure these tickets.

Read on also for team news, predicted starting XIs from both managers and our predictions on the scoreline of the game.

Match tickets

Manchester United will host this game which means that Old Trafford is the venue where the match will be played. The Red Devils and the Seagulls are already selling Manchester United vs Brighton tickets to their fans via their websites, other official channels, partner platforms and affiliates, which means that fans have to indicate early enough to be entered into the ballot for the tickets. 

The Premier League will also carry the tickets and as stated earlier, only fans who indicate early enough will be lucky to be entered into the ticket ballots.

Ticket resale platforms are there for non-local, non-registered and tourist fans of either club to take advantage of as they look for ways to get seats at Old Trafford on that day. These platforms allow them to buy Manchester United tickets directly from fans who have tickets to exchange for money and even other tickets.

The match is scheduled for 3 PM UK time on 19 January 2025, as part of the matchday 22 action in the 2024/25 Premier League season.

Team news

The hosts, Manchester United, have no injury or suspension worries ahead of their clash with Brighton. What Hürzeler will be worried about, however, is how Amorim intends to set up his team. This is because the former Sporting CP Lisbon manager has been tweaking this side to find his best team and formation ahead of his first full season in 2025/26. Amorim has experimented with three at the back, five in the middle, and two strikers up front in different setups.  

As long as his players stay fit, they are his tools to experiment with. The Red Devils are also in the market for players who Amorim wants to work with as he slowly stamps his identity on the club and while we do not expect any debuts in red on that day, things could play out differently as they tend to do since the Portuguese took over.

The visitors are also at full strength for this match, with only Solly March being out of commission although he is close to being considered in the starting line-up. The English forward blew out his knee in October 2023 and has returned to training. He has gotten minutes with the Brighton under-21 team but he is yet to develop the match fitness level that is required to play a full Premier League game. Brighton fans will hope he recovers quickly enough, as March has proven to be a potent weapon against Manchester United since their good run of form against the Red Devils began and he may take Welbeck’s place if he has not recovered from his ankle injury.

Line-ups

Here is how we expect the teams to line up for this Boxing Day curtain raiser.

Manchester United: Onana; Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martinez; Diallo, Ugarte, Mainoo, Dalot; Fernandes; Rashford, Zirkzee.

Brighton & Hove Albion: Verbruggen; Igor Julio, van Heckle, Estupiñan, Veltman; Adingra, Mitoma, Ayari, Rutter; Pedro, Welbeck.

Prediction

Brighton won the last clash at the AMEX but only narrowly. It took until the dying minutes for the Seagulls to score the winner and keep the three points at home with them when it looked like United were going to salvage a point. 

Diallo scored United’s goal in that game and now that he is a mainstay in the team, he will present an even bigger danger than he did back in matchday 2. The improved form of United now suggests that late winners are practically ruled out and that any winner in this game will have to do so emphatically and from the beginning. We predict a draw.

Manchester United 2 – 2 Brighton & Hove Albion