Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag will likely be working with an identical group of players for Thursday's Premier League encounter with Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium.

Donny van de Beek (knee), Alejandro Garnacho (ankle), Tom Heaton (ankle), Phil Jones (knee), Raphael Varane (ankle) and Lisandro Martinez (foot) remain out of contention for the Red Devils, who will also make do without Scott McTominay and his problematic knock once more.

Victor Lindelof and Luke Shaw were tasked with quelling an Aston Villa attack that had previously scored in all of their games under Unai Emery on Sunday, and the pair succeeded in their task as Harry Maguire looked on from the bench.

The club captain should therefore take his place in the dugout again as Lindelof and Shaw pair up in front of David de Gea, allowing Tyrell Malacia to strut his stuff on the left.

Diogo Dalot was given the nod at the weekend, but Aaron Wan-Bissaka - who was one of the heroes of their FA Cup semi-final win over Brighton - ought to return to the fold here.

With both of Anthony Martial and Wout Weghorst starting on the bench against Villa, Man United opted for a slight change of shape, and Bruno Fernandes could continue on the right-hand side here, assuming that his ongoing ankle issue does not cause him too much trouble.

Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Marcel Sabitzer could provide a formidable midfield presence if that is the case as Marcus Rashford leads the line, but Jadon Sancho is at risk of losing his spot on the left to Antony.

Manchester United possible starting lineup: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Shaw, Malacia; Casemiro; Fernandes, Sabitzer, Eriksen, Antony; Rashford

Written by
Ben Knapton