da prosport bet： Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion haven't the most extensive history of playing one another in English football. Still, they aren't strangers either, facing off 31 times since their first meeting over a century ago in 1909 – a game the hosts won 1-0. Football FanCast has everything you need to know as the two teams prepare to meet again in the Premier League.
da dobrowin： While it's still early in the season, the four games already played can give us some idea of the teams' form going into their clash at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.
Despite their traditional role of the underdog in the fixture over the years, it's probably Brighton that go into the game as favourites thanks to their impressive win over Newcastle United last time out and generally excellent performances so far this year.
In fact, the only game they have lost so far was their home tie against West Ham, which they ended up losing 3-1 despite coming away with twice as many shots and 78% possession.
For their part, United have struggled to find their rhythm so far, escaping their opening game against Wolverhampton Wanderers with all three points despite their performance. Their following three games have seen them come away from North London with two defeats courtesy of Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal.
That said, the Red Devils are still a brilliant side, and a home game against the all-action Brighton could be precisely what they need to get their season well and truly underway.
Man United vs Brighton: What's their head-to-head record?
In total, Man United and Brighton have only met 31 times since their initial meeting all the way back in 1909, meaning they have averaged just a single meeting every three and a half years since then.
In reality, the lack of competitive games between the sides is mainly down to a gap of 70 years between their meetings in 1909 and 1979, as the Seagulls spent a significant portion of their existence in the lower leagues.
It's a fixture that has, unsurprisingly, come to be dominated by United, with the three-time European Champions coming away victors 19 times, sharing the spoils six times and coming away losers just six times.
In fact, it's only in the last few years that the South Coast club have been able to mount a genuine challenge thanks to their meteoric rise up the footballing pyramid.
Man United Wins
19
Draws
6
Brighton Wins
6
Man United vs Brighton: What's their record at Old Trafford?
Well, to call the games at Old Trafford one-sided would still probably be an understatement; the Red Devils have won 12 of the 15 games held in the northwest – a genuinely impressive win rate of 80%.
Brighton, on the other hand, have only come away from the Theatre of Dreams with all three points once in their history, thanks to a 2-1 win in August of last year – a win rate of just 6.6%.
Man United Wins
12
Draws
2
Brighton Wins
1
Man United vs Brighton: What's their record at Brighton?
The results on the south coast make for slightly nicer reading for the Seagulls, although they still come away from home games as the losers more often than not.
In the 13 times that Brighton have hosted the Red Devils, they have emerged victorious five times, most recently in May of this year following a 1-0 victory in the league.
For their part, United have won six games when playing away at Brighton, most recently in September 2020 in a League Cup game.
Man United Wins
6
Draws
2
Brighton Wins
5
Man United vs Brighton: What's their record at neutral venues?
The two sides have only ever met on neutral ground three times in their histories, but interestingly, they have all been in FA Cup Finals or Semi-Finals.
Their first meeting came in the 1983 Final, and it saw the Seagulls take the lead before United equalised, and the game ended 2-2, which in those days meant a replay was in store. Unfortunately for Brighton, the replay was a disaster, and their northern competitors ran away 4-0 winners to claim their fifth title.
Their third meeting was in last season's semi-final and saw United come away winners following a tense penalty shootout after the match ended 0-0 after extra time.
Man United Wins
1
Draws
2
Brighton Wins
0
Man United vs Brighton: Which team has the most goals?
Again, it probably won't come as a massive surprise to you to hear that United are the more prolific team in front of goal in this fixture's history. In fact, it hasn't even been close when it comes to putting the ball in the back of the net.
In total, the Red Devils have scored 50 goals in their 31 meetings, which equates to 1.6 goals per game.
Brighton have scored precisely half as many goals, slotting just 25 past United's number ones over the years. Their goals-per-game ratio is also a lot less impressive at only 0.8.
Man United Goals
50
Brighton Goals
25
Man United vs Brighton: What happened in last season's fixtures?
United and Brighton played each other three times last season, with the most high-profile of the games being their FA Cup semi-final clash. As mentioned before, it was a nervy game that was decided on penalties after neither side could find the killer blow in 120 minutes.
Erik ten Hag's men scored all seven of their penalties, whereas Brighton's Solly March missed his, sending his side crashing out of the competition.
While United came away victorious from Wembley Stadium, it was Roberto De Zerbi who had the last laugh in the league, winning both home and away to do the double over the competition for the first time in the club's history.
The game at Old Trafford ended 2-1 in the Seagulls' favour, while they left the Amex 1-0 winners in early May.
Man United vs Brighton: What is Man United's biggest win?
Man United's biggest win over Brighton came back in 1983 – before the Sir Alex Ferguson era – when the club came away 4-0 winners away from home in the FA Cup.
Club legend Bryan Robson opened the scoring on 25 minutes before Norman Whiteside added another five minutes later, with Robson adding a third on the stroke of halftime.
With the tie effectively over, United seemingly took their foot ever so slightly off the gas and scored just a single goal in the second half courtesy of an Arnold Muhren penalty.
Man United vs Brighton: What is Brighton's biggest win?
Brighton's biggest win actually matches United's at 4-0, only their win is a lot more recent. The Seagulls thoroughly outplayed and dispatched a demoralised and lacklustre United side in May 2022.
The game was one of Ralf Rangnick's last ones as manager and couldn't have gone much worse.
The then fairly unknown Moises Caicedo opened the scoring on the 15th minute. However, in the second half, things really started to go wrong for United as Marc Cucurella doubled the score on 49 minutes before Pascal Gross and Leandro Trossard took the game away from Rangnick's men before the 60th minute.
Man United vs Brighton: What are the recent results?
Interestingly, even though United has generally dominated the fixture, the last five games tell a very different story. In fact, if you were just to look at their previous five encounters, you would be forgiven for thinking that Brighton were the bigger side.
In their last five games, United have only won two, with one of those being their FA Cup penalty triumph. Brighton, on the other hand, have won three of the last five, including their double last season and their 4-0 win the season before.
Man United vs Brighton: When is it?
Man United host Brighton on Saturday 16th September at 3pm British Summer Time. Whilst this fixture hasn't always been one of the traditional big-ticket clashes in English football, the recent levelling of the playing field has made it a must-watch for Premier League fans, and both sides will be going into it with their own very different motivations.
United will be desperate to put their defeat away to Arsenal behind them with a convincing home win over a side that so many have been raving about in recent weeks. Not only that, but ten Hag will also want to see how new striker Rasmus Hojlund gets on in what would surely be the perfect game to give him his full-league debut.
Brighton, on the other hand, will want to keep their excellent form going for as long as possible and show the rest of the footballing world that the team that played Newcastle was the real Brighton, not the one that lost to West Ham.
The Seagulls will have their own players looking to make a mark; with Evan Ferguson now the talk of the league, what better place to prove you're the real deal than at the Theatre of Dreams?
Overall, this should be an exhilarating game to watch on Saturday, with high-octane action and goals galore.