Manchester United have plenty to occupy their thoughts heading into Wednesday’s Carabao Cup third round tie against Brighton.
Michael Carrick’s side are still stinging from Sunday’s controversial 1-0 derby defeat to Manchester City, with referees’ body PGMOL having since admitted an “error of judgement” over the Erling Haaland goal that decided the match.
That result leaves United with just four points from a possible twelve at the start of the season, sitting in the bottom half of the table heading into midweek.
United also carry painful recent history in this competition, having been dumped out at the same stage last season on penalties by League Two’s Grimsby Town, a result still fresh in supporters’ minds.
Carlos Baleba remains unavailable through the ankle injury that has kept him out since his summer arrival from Brighton.
Amad Diallo continues to be missing with the ankle issue that ruled him out of the opening-day defeat at Hull, with suggestions his absence could stretch to six weeks in total.
Matthijs de Ligt remains a longer-term absentee, having not played since suffering a back injury last November that required surgery, though he has been spotted back in first-team training as his rehabilitation progresses.
Manuel Ugarte faces by far the longest spell on the sidelines, with his cruciate ligament injury sustained at the World Cup with Uruguay expected to keep him out until around April next year.
Tom Heaton continues his recovery from an abdominal issue and is given only a slim chance of involvement, while Luke Shaw remains a doubt having missed United’s last two matches with muscle tightness, though he is considered close to a return.
Brighton themselves arrive at Old Trafford with a lengthy list of absentees of their own, despite sitting fourth in the Premier League after four matches under Fabian Hurzeler.
Yankuba Minteh, Jack Hinshelwood, Zadok Yohanna, Evan Ferguson and Stefanos Tzimas are all confirmed out, while Georginio Rutter and deadline-day signing Femi Azeez remain doubts after both were assessed in the days leading up to kick-off.
Brighton’s own recent history against United carries extra intrigue too, having eliminated Carrick’s side from last season’s FA Cup earlier this year.
With both sides carrying significant injury lists into Wednesday’s tie, Carrick is expected to make wholesale changes from the weekend, with Leny Yoro, Ayden Heaven and Andrey Santos among those likely to be handed opportunities at Old Trafford.
Carlos Baleba
Carlos Baleba