Manchester United will hope to secure a third consecutive win this weekend when Brighton comes to Old Trafford, with one glaring weakness clear to exploit.
The highs of last weekend will remain fresh in the memory of Manchester United. It was a first win at Anfield since 2016, but things won’t get easier this coming weekend.
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On Saturday evening, United face Brighton in a game which hasn’t been kind to the Red Devils in recent years.
However, Kaoru Mitoma is set to be missing for Brighton, which is a big miss for the visiting side this weekend. Meanwhile, another narrative will be Carlos Baleba on his United audition ahead of 2026 transfer interest.
Within the game, there is one clear avenue to success for United, through the Seagulls’ biggest weakness.
Matheus Cunha with arms outstretched in Manchester United away kit.
Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images
Manchester United must take advantage of Bart Verbruggen
Manchester United, for all the talk of a crisis, comes into this weekend ninth in the league, one spot ahead of Brighton, and therefore, there should be plenty of confidence.
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Confidence should be further inspired when United’s flying attacking unit steps out onto the pitch and sees one of the league’s poorest shot stoppers in goal.
This is in relation to Bart Verbruggen. The young Dutch goalkeeper, who is having a poor season, is statistically one of the worst keepers in the league.
Stat 25/26 Percentile
Saves 16 59th
Save percentage 59.3% 22nd
Goals conceded 11 15th
Goals prevented -1.07 29th
Clean sheets 0 3rd
Acted as sweeper 2 30th
High claim 3 11th
Long ball accuracy 28.7% 18th
Verbruggen isn’t faced with a lot of shots, testament to Brighton’s defence, but when he is tested, he is a big weakness for his team, and therefore, the message should be clear from Ruben Amorim.
Shoot, shoot, and shoot again. Testing Verbruggen will result in goals because he simply isn’t good enough to keep United at bay, and Matheus Cunha will be key in exploiting this.
Matheus Cunha can exploit Verbruggen for Manchester United
United should be looking to shoot every chance possible against Brighton, and this will involve Cunha, who has averaged the most shots per 90 for United this season at 3.5.
Cunha is becoming unplayable for United, and this game feels like the one in which he could truly announce himself for the club, scoring a goal or two with his shots from the edge of the box, potentially deadly to Verbruggen.
In addition, Cunha’s impressive work rate could be key for United pressing and taking advantage of Verbruggen’s poor passing, making him go long where he has among the worst completion rates in the league.
Therefore, having Cunha with Mason Mount and Bryan Mbeumo to press high should see Brighton struggle to play out from the back, making Verbruggen play to his weakness.
An additional consideration for Amorim would be how poor Verbruggen is in the air; corners should be placed directly on top of him, similar to how clubs targeted Altay Bayindir earlier this season.