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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
George Smith

Harry Maguire dropped as Manchester United fans name starting line-up they want vs Brighton

Manchester United will be looking to arrest their run of three games without a win in all competitions when they welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to Old Trafford this evening.

United, who have won their last six meetings with the Seagulls in league and cup, were forced to settle for a second consecutive 1-1 draw in the Premier League on Saturday against Southampton, despite taking a first half lead through Jadon Sancho.

Considering United had squandered a one-goal lead against Burnley a few days earlier, it piled even more pressure on the players and interim manager Ralf Rangnick to turn things around in their pursuit of a top-four finish.

The Reds, despite their recent struggles, will climb back into the top-four with a victory this evening, but they are up against a Brighton side who have lost just once in 12 Premier League away games this season, highlighting the size of the challenge coming their way.

United have been boosted by the return of midfielder Fred for tonight's game following a bout of Covid-19, but Edinson Cavani and Nemanja Matic remain unavailable.

But how do United's fans want to see Rangnick set his side up against Brighton? MEN Sport has taken a close look at what United's supporters have voted for using our interactive widget.

Goalkeeper - David de Gea

Arguably the first name on the teamsheet at every stage this season, goalkeeper De Gea will be expected to continue between the sticks against Brighton, and that is exactly what the supporters are hoping for.

He has been outstanding all season long and deserves all of the plaudits he has received, even though he has only kept five clean sheets in 24 Premier League outings.

Defence - Diogo Dalot, Raphael Varane, Victor Lindelof, Luke Shaw

The supporters are hoping to see one change made to the back-four that started against Southampton, with Harry Maguire being replaced by Lindelof alongside Varane at centre-back.

Maguire has struggled for form massively this season and a lot of supporters' patience are wearing thin, with his error against Burnley last Tuesday evening attracting more criticism.

Having voted for him to drop out of the side, they want to see Lindelof reinstated to the team to partner Varane at centre-back. The supporters do not want to see any changes made in the two full-back spots.

Midfield - Paul Pogba, Scott McTominay, Bruno Fernandes

Copy and paste. United's supporters do not want to see any changes made to the midfield-three, despite Fred once again being available for selection.

Pogba has started the last three matches in league and cup and has looked razor-sharp in some moments whilst struggling in others. Fernandes was criticised for parts of his showing at the weekend, particularly out-of-possession, but the supporters want to see him retain his place, likewise McTominay.

Attack - Jadon Sancho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Anthony Elanga

Although Ronaldo currently finds himself on a six-game run without a goal, the supporters want to see him keep his place in the centre of the front-three this evening, most probably because of Cavani's unavailability.

The Portuguese star has looked a shadow of his usual self in recent weeks and is in desperate need of a goal to spark himself back into life.

However, fellow attacker Sancho has started to go up through the gears in recently, scoring twice in his last three matches. The supporters want to see him start, but on the right-wing, with Elanga replacing Marcus Rashford and starting on the left.

Starting line-up United's supporters want to see vs Brighton: De Gea; Dalot, Varane, Lindelof, Shaw; Pogba, McTominay, Fernandes; Sancho, Ronaldo, Elanga.

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