Brighton vs. Man United: Red Devils captain Bruno Fernandes chasing assist record as Michael Carrick looks to youth

Ahead of Sunday's Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Manchester United, hear what the Sports Mole team have to say about the upcoming battle.

Matt Law, Football Editor: "It's interesting to see what Carrick has in mind"

A lot has been made recently of the Fernandes situation. It's the modern day and it's players chasing records. There was a little bit of Fernandes looking for passes against Forest last time out when he might have had a shot.

These things are important to players, but if Fernandes is providing an assist for someone, that's helping the team, and I really hope he gets it. It's fantastic company to be in with Henry and De Bruyne now for the 20 assists.

I think the team selection will be very interesting for this game. Sesko is potentially going to miss out again as they're not going to risk the shin injury. There are suggestions that Casemiro won't be involved, having had that great send-off last time out before leaving the club.

Shea Lacey could potentially be involved, Kukonki, the young centre-back who's very highly rated, and Jim Thwaites in midfield, another one tipped to have a really good career in the game, whether that's at Manchester United. He's been very good in the Youth Cup, including the final against Manchester City, which United lost late on.

It's interesting to see what Carrick has in mind for this game in terms of giving players a chance. At the time of recording there's no announcement on Carrick's future, but it's almost certain that he's going to be staying.

The hold up is related to his staff members and making sure they get the deals they need. Steve Holland has been a massive part of the success this season, and Jonny Evans and Travis Binnion are also going to stay on at the club moving forward.

Pressure is off from Manchester United's point of view with third being secured.

On the Mbeumo handball against Forest last time out, the accidental handball rule states: "An accidental handball that leads to a teammate scoring a goal or having a goal-scoring opportunity will no longer be considered an offence."

The referee deemed it to be accidental. If it was Mbeumo himself scoring that goal as a result of it, it would have been disallowed regardless of whether it was accidental.

United's form has been good recently since that Leeds defeat, winning four of the last five. Interesting summer ahead with lots of potential activity to make the squad better.

The forward signings last summer made a huge difference to the team and there's hope that addressing the midfield this summer will push them further. Can they challenge next season for the Premier League title? It's a big jump to make, but they've got to keep making progress.

Carrick will potentially be confirmed ahead of this game or definitely soon after.

Oliver Thomas, Senior Reporter: "Would be some achievement for Brighton"

That would be some achievement for Brighton to be in Champions League football considering where they were earlier this season.

They had that poor run between December and January with questions over Hurzeler's future, languishing in the bottom half of the table at the beginning of the year.

But they've been one of the in-form teams in the division over the last couple of months and that form could well be rewarded with European football.

For a club like Brighton, it would be a huge achievement. They've still got work to do to secure some form of European football for next season. They lost 1-0 against Leeds last weekend, which was a frustrating one.

They had 19 attempts in that game and in the end were made to pay for that wastefulness in attack, with Calvert-Lewin scoring a 96th-minute winner for Leeds.

Brighton go into this final-day game knowing that it could be Conference League football, Europa League football, or Champions League football.

A win would guarantee Europa League football at least, but they could potentially get Champions League if Bournemouth slip up.

The main aim for Brighton is just to get this win, secure some form of European football, and then see which competition they'll be in for next season.

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