Venue: Old Trafford
Kick off: 8:45PM
The pressure is on Jose Mourinho and Manchester United to deliver in their FA Cup quarter-final against Brighton & Hove Albion this evening after their disappointing Champions League exit to Sevilla.
With neighbours Manchester City running away with the Premier League title, this represents United’s last chance of winning a trophy this season.
Mourinho has made himself an unnecessary target with his overly-cautious approach to the two legs against Sevilla, and Red Devils supporters will start asking serious questions of his suitability if they follow their European setback by crashing out to Brighton.
Second place in the Premier League, consolidated by last weekend’s 2-1 win over Liverpool, may not save Mourinho from scrutiny when the club’s two fiercest rivals are playing the sort of expansive football which is usually synonymous with United themselves.
United’s legacy is built on attacking football which wins trophies and while the Special One has a brilliant record for sniffing out silverware, he has not fared as well in the FA Cup as he has other competitions, lifting the trophy only once courtesy of a victory over United in the 2006-07 final during his first spell as Chelsea manager.
The North East giants did win the competition as recently as 2016 in Louis van Gaal’s last match at the helm before Mourinho’s arrival, although that was only the club’s second FA Cup triumph since the turn of the century.
The defeat to Sevilla was just United’s second of the season at Old Trafford, the other being at the hands of Man City in December, so Mourinho should find solace in home comfort on the back of Tuesday’s surprising result.
However, the atmosphere inside the stadium will be anything but comfortable if Mourinho persists with his pragmatic tactics against Brighton as there is no excuse for the Red Devils not to take the game to Chris Hughton’s side.
Three wins from their last five Premier League games have lifted Brighton to a dreamy 11th in the table, seven points above the relegation zone which should give Hughton the freedom to have a real go at the FA Cup too.
Man Utd possible XI: De Gea, Valencia, Bailly, Smalling, Young; Matic, Pogba, Rashford, Mata, Sanchez, Lukaku.
Brighton possible XI: Ryan, Schelotto, Dunk, Duffy, Suttner, Gross, Kayal, Propper, Izquidero, March, Locadia.