Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag will be without six senior players for Thursday’s Premier League encounter against Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Red Devils could take a big step towards confirming a Champions League place at the Amex, with United starting to draw clear of the chasing pack of Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur.
However, Ten Hag’s men have struggled against Brighton this season and lost to the Seagulls on the opening weekend of the season and were second best for long spells of last month’s FA Cup semi-final. Brighton also have European places on their mind and could move above Aston Villa and Spurs with a win.
Brighton might also have Evan Ferguson available for the match with the striker set to be assessed before the game following a recent injury, while Joel Veltman is expected to miss out. Tariq Lamptey, Jeremy Sarmiento, Jakub Moder and Adam Lallana will definitely be unavailable.
Ten Hag is also expecting Brighton to be particularly pumped up for the game given their Wembley heartbreak a few weeks ago. "That is normal. That is a normal reaction. I think everyone who is involved in top sport, if you get beaten you want to have revenge, and that is normal,” he said.
“They have a huge motivation to beat us but we have to match that. Not only match that, we have to do more. We have to show more, that we have more hunger than them to win this game. I think willingness, that is the word for tomorrow."
Meanwhile, here’s a run through of all six United players missing for the clash on Thursday..
1. Tom Heaton
Was expected to return in mid-April but hasn’t recovered from an ankle injury.
2. Raphael Varane
Ten Hag said ahead of the match that Varane is ‘closer’ to a return than team-mate Scott McTominay, but won’t be involved on Thursday.
3. Lisandro Martinez
Won’t play again this season due to an ankle issue he suffered in last month’s draw against Sevilla.
4. Scott McTominay
Ten Hag confirmed on Wednesday that McTominay and Varane will miss the next two matches.