Heroes Maguire and Mount dropped as Amorim shuffles the pack for his starting XI vs Brighton – prediction

Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim is only one player shy of a full squad for his side’s Premier League home clash against Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday.

Lisandro Martinez is the only player out as he continues his comeback from injury.

United have won two games on the bounce for the first time since Amorim took the reins and will be hoping to make it three from three against the Seagulls.

Amorim could be tempted to stick to a winning team, but we think he will tweak his side for a home tie against a mid-table side.

Defence

After two superb first games for United, Senne Lammens is almost certain to keep his place in goal.

Like Lammens Harry Maguire put in a heroic performance against Liverpool on Sunday, scoring the winner. However, he may drop back to the bench in place of Leny Yoro. Brighton are likely to be playing counter-attacking football and United will be playing a higher back line than the one they employed at Anfield. This means pace is more important for those defenders, making Yoro a more logical choice than Maguire.

Matthijs de Ligt will therefore move back to the centre of the back three, with Luke Shaw expected to keep his place at left centre back.

Ayden Heaven and Nouss Mazraoui are also options.

Wing Backs and Midfield

Given United are on a roll and it’s a home tie, Amorim could go on the front foot with his wing backs and field both fly boys, Amad and Patrick Dorgu. Diogo Dalot would drop to the bench. Mazraoui is also an option at wing back.

In central midfield, it would be nice to see Kobbie Mainoo get a start but we expect Amorim to stick with Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro.

Manuel Ugarte may also be considered.

Attack

Mason Mount has started the last couple of games, with both Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko taking turns on the bench. But it may now be Mount’s turn to rest up, with Bryan Mbeumo, Sesko and Cunha starting.

Josh Zirkzee is not getting much football and is also in the frame for a start, but he’s more likely to get some second-half minutes.

Amorim may give some hints as to his line-up at the pre-match press conference, which we’ll cover here tomorrow at around 1.30pm. In the meantime, here is our predicted starting XI for Saturday:

Featured image Justin Setterfield via Getty Images

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