Predicted MUFC XI vs Brighton (Premier League 2022/23, home)

Just like that. It all starts again. Our predicted MUFC XI for our first game of the season vs Brighton is now in…

Manchester United’s pre-season is over. The Premier League starts now. Brighton & Hove Albion have improved year on year since earning promotion to the top division so this will not be an easy start.

Graham Potter will be coming to Old Trafford fully intending on upsetting the opening day for Erik ten Hag, with the Dutch boss not having the best of preparations for this one.

Anthony Martial is absent with United looking somewhat light in several key areas. It’ll be intriguing to see how it plays out. After Ten Hag’s pre-match presser earlier today, we have a slightly better idea of which way the Dutch boss is leaning.

Anyway, after much deliberation, our first predicted line-up of the season is in, with three new signings involved.

Check out our predicted MUFC XI vs Brighton in full here:

Perhaps the easiest position to pick is goalkeeper. David de Gea has been relieved of the Dean Henderson burden, while the Englishman’s comments in the media will absolutely not help his position upon return.

Diogo Dalot has seemingly won the starting right-back job, with the club openly opting to moving away from Aaron Wan-Bissaka. The left-back slot was harder to pick from, though I have to believe Tyrell Malacia has played his way into the side thanks to his pre-season form. Harry Maguire will always start when fit as he’s the club captain, while new signing Lisandro Martinez will be given the nod ahead of both Victor Lindelof and Raphael Varane.

Midfield was tough. I think Fred will probably be amongst the first names on the team sheet, though picking his partner was hard. I’ve gone for Christian Eriksen as he feels like the better fit for the way Ten Hag likes to play. Obviously, Bruno Fernandes starts in that number ten position.

The front three was tough in the wake of the Martial injury news. Marcus Rashford feels like an absolute guarantee to start. We think he’ll keep his left-wing spot, with Jadon Sancho fit enough to start on the right-flank. We’ve gone for Cristiano Ronaldo as the main striker over Anthony Elanga. Purely due to his wealth of experience.

I’ll be honest, I feel a bit sad about the fact that Ronaldo, who doesn’t want to be here, will lead the line on the opening day as he doesn’t deserve that opportunity. But that just shows how thin United are up front.

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