Sports
Team News and Confirmed Starting Lineups
Manchester United and Brighton will go head-to-head in the FA Cup third round at Old Trafford on Sunday evening with both teams looking to progress to the next round and address their recent form issues.
Darren Fletcher’s side come into this game on the back of three consecutive draws, including a 2-2 against Burnley in midweek in the Scot’s first game in charge since Ruben Amorim’s sacking. Fabian Hurzeler’s side, on the other hand, have just one win in their last eight, but held Man City to a 1-1 draw in midweek in the Premier League.
Both teams are also dealing with injuries coming into this game, and this is how GIVEMESPORT expects the sides to line up as a result.
Man Utd Team News
Man Utd were able to welcome back Harry Maguire, Bruno Fernandes, Mason Mount and Kobbie Mainoo to the squad against Burnley, and Fletcher has confirmed that they should all be available once again for this game.
Noussair Mazraoui, Bryan Mbeumo and Amad are still unavailable as they compete at AFCON, while Matthijs De Ligt remains sidelined with a lower back injury. Teenage phenom JJ Gabriel is eligible to make his first-team debut after shining for the Under-18’s, and there have been suggestions he could be involved, although it looks unlikely at this stage.
|
Man Utd Injuries and Suspensions |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Player |
Injury |
Potential Return Date |
|
Noussair Mazraoui |
Int’l Duty |
18/01/2026 |
|
Amad |
Int’l Duty |
18/01/2026 |
|
Bryan Mbeumo |
Int’l Duty |
17/01/2026 |
|
Matthijs De Ligt |
Back |
17/01/2026 |
Fletcher Drops Team News Update
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Fletcher shared an update on his squad ahead of the game.
“I think it’s too close a turnaround. So we’ll have the same players available for the game, as we had against Burnley, so no new additions. Bryan [Mbeumo] and Nous [Mazraoui] will not be available for the game. “Well, he [Maguire] has been out for a while, so it would probably be looking at his load and things like that. That decision’s not been made, but you’ve seen the players come back the other night. You’ve seen Mason [Mount], you’ve seen Kobbie [Mainoo], you’ve seen Bruno [Fernandes].
“There has to be some understanding of their first minutes, we might have to be careful with that process to build back in, so I think Harry will probably be in that situation for the weekend.”
Man Utd Confirmed XI
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Brighton Team News
Brighton will be hoping to have some players returning for this game, with Joel Veltman and Babis Kostoulas expected to be available, while Yankuba Minteh will be assessed after dealing with a dead leg.
Stefanos Tzimas, Adam Webster, Solly March, Mats Wieffer all remain sidelined through injury, while Carlos Baleba won’t return from AFCON in time despite Cameroon being eliminated on Thursday night.
|
Brighton Injuries and Suspensions |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Player |
Injury |
Potential Return Date |
|
Stefanos Tzimas |
Knee |
12/09/2026 |
|
Adam Webster |
Knee |
01/06/2026 |
|
Solly March |
Knee |
31/01/2026 |
|
Mats Wieffer |
Toe |
19/01/2026 |
|
Carlos Baleba |
Int’l Duty |
19/01/2026 |
|
Yankuba Minteh |
Leg |
11/01/2026 |
|
Joel Veltman |
Knock |
11/01/2026 |
|
Babis Kostoulas |
Knock |
11/01/2026 |
Hurzeler Drops Team News Update
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Hurzeler shared an update on his squad ahead of the game.
“Yankuba [Minteh] will be assessed. We need to see how far he is on Friday in the training session. It’s a dead leg so there could be a chance but we have to see how he is. Dead legs sometimes needs time, sometimes they heal quicker.
“Babis Kostoulas and Joel Veltman should be an option to start the game.”
Brighton Confirmed XI
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