Four days after playing out an instant Premier League classic, Brighton & Hove Albion and Manchester United renew acquaintances in an EFL Cup fourth round tie at the Amex Stadium on Wednesday night.
The first episode of the quickfire double-header between these two sides has done a good job to whet the appetite for the sequel as Manchester United ran out 3-2 winners in incredible circumstances.
Match preview
© Reuters
The dust has barely settled on the extraordinary events of the Premier League meeting between these two sides at the weekend as the same teams prepare to do battle at the same location in the EFL Cup.
The prospect of the same spectacle occurring seems unlikely after Saturday's showdown immediately went down as one of the most action-packed, controversial and dramatic contests in Premier League history.
Brighton hit the woodwork on no fewer than five separate occasions and had 18 shots overall, whereas United managed only three shots on target throughout the game but crucially scored with all of them.
The Seagulls thought that they had rescued a deserved equaliser when they levelled things up in the 95th minute, but a contentious penalty awarded via VAR after the final whistle had gone allowed Bruno Fernandes to seal victory in the 100th minute.
© Reuters
Brighton may have come away from the match cruelly denied any points, but at the very least they will have gained confidence heading into this contest, safe in the knowledge that a repeat performance would likely end up in a different result this time around.
It was by no means a one-off either; Graham Potter's side have made an encouraging start to the campaign despite losing two of their three league games so far, with those defeats coming at home to Chelsea and Man United.
Between those results Brighton won three games on the bounce by an aggregate scoreline of 9-0 across all competitions, including EFL Cup victories over Portsmouth and Preston North End to reach this stage for the first time since 2014-15.
The Seagulls have only made it further than the fourth round of this competition once in their history, though, and that came all the way back in 1978-79.
© Reuters
United's pedigree in the League Cup is much more impressive with only Liverpool and Manchester City having lifted the trophy more often, although the gap between these two clubs is arguably as close now as it has ever been.
Saturday's thriller was perhaps proof of that, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be telling his side that they will need to play better this time around if they are to progress into the fifth round, having admitted that they "got away with one" at the weekend.
While that very recent trip to the Amex was their first Premier League win of the campaign following their opening-day defeat to Crystal Palace, United were victorious against Luton Town in the last round to set up this match.
Indeed, the Red Devils are now unbeaten in their last 15 away games across all competitions, stretching all the way back to their January defeat at Anfield.
Brighton & Hove Albion EFL Cup form: WW
Brighton & Hove Albion form (all competitions): LWWWL
Manchester United EFL Cup form: W
Manchester United form (all competitions): LWW
Team News
© Reuters
United's solitary summer signing Donny van de Beek is yet to make his full Premier League debut, but he did start against Luton in the last round and could come into the side again here.
Further changes are expected too as Solskjaer looks to keep his squad fresh, with the likes of Odion Ighalo, Jesse Lingard, Eric Bailly and Juan Mata among those who could come into the side.
Dean Henderson is also expected to take the gloves from David de Gea following his clean sheet at Luton last week.
Axel Tuanzebe and Phil Jones are United's only injury absentees.
Brighton are still without the suspended Yves Bissouma, while Jose Izquierdo and Florin Andone remain sidelined through injury.
Potter made a host of changes in the last round and could rotate heavily again, although the standard of the opposition - and their performance on Saturday - could see a few regulars retain their place.
Neal Maupay will be particularly keen to make amends for giving away the last-gasp penalty at the weekend, having earlier given the Seagulls the lead.
Brighton & Hove Albion possible starting lineup:
Steele; Veltman, Burn, Dunk, Bernardo; Propper, Sanders; Jahanbakhsh, Gross, Mac Allister; Maupay
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
Henderson; Dalot, Bailly, Maguire, Williams; Fred, Matic; James, Van de Beek, Lingard; Ighalo
We say: Brighton & Hove Albion 1-2 Manchester United
If any Manchester United player had underestimated Brighton prior to Saturday's match, they will not make the same mistake on Wednesday.
The two lineups are likely to be vastly different to the ones from that Premier League bonanza, though, and that means that strength in depth may well be the decider factor - something which plays into the hands of the visitors.
