Brighton Vs Manchester United: Joshua Zirkzee Becomes Anyar's Hope

Manchester United striker Joshua Zirkee (11) started against Brighton and Hove Albion. (Instagram @manchesterunited)

JAKARTA - Striker Joshua Zirkzee became a newstay when Manchester United played an away match against Brighton and Hove Albion in the English Premier League at Broadfield Stadium, Saturday, August 24, 2024 evening WIB. Even Zirkzee no longer sat on the bench because he immediately started in that match.

Zirkzee was able to replace Rasmus Hojlund who was forced to miss due to injury. Zirkzee also forced manager Erik ten Hag to ignore the false 9 strategy by placing captain Bruno Fernandes or Marcus Rashford as center forward.

Ten Hag chose that strategy against Manchester City at Community Shield. Furthermore, Fernandes returned to play false 9 when MU played the Premier League's inaugural match against Fulham.

Only Fernandes failed to do his job of breaking into the opponent's goal. On the other hand, Zirkzee, who came on as a substitute, managed to score and gave the Red Devils a win in the first match.

Now, Zirkzee is MU's mainstay when he visits Brighton's headquarters. According to Ten Hag, the success of the former Bologna striker scored a goal in his debut to make Zirkzee even more confident.

"It's great for a striker to score the first goal in his first game. This makes him even more confident. We're happy he can do it," said Ten Hag, who compared Zirkzee to Hojlund, who had to wait three months to score his first goal. Since then, Hojlund has been increasingly breaking into the opponent's goal.

"Not only him, but also we are more confident. This is a good thing for the team. Compared to Hojlund who ended up waiting for three months to score the first goal in the Premier League," he said. Only MU met opponents who were on fire. Last season, The Seagulls was already successful when they were handled by Roberto De Zerbi. Success in dealing with Brighton has made De Zerbi targeted by many top clubs, including MU, Liverpool to Barcelona. However, this Italian man was anchored to the French Ligue 1 club Marseille.

After being left behind by De Zerbi, The Albion was handled by Fabian Hurzeler, who is still 31. The German manager was listed as the youngest in Premier League history. But his pole was unquestionable by bringing Brighton a 3-0 win over Everton in the first match.

Brighton is the only team to win a landslide victory that takes them to the top of the Premier League standings. Hurzeler doesn't seem to make any changes to the composition of the players against United.

Former Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck, who contributed one goal against Everton, is again the first choice on the front lines. He was supported by Joao Pedro who worked hand in hand with Yankuba Minteh and Japanese star Totaling Mitoma who opened the team's victory in the first match.

Meanwhile, midfielder Mats Wieffer and veteran James Milner occupy double-pivot positions. Captain Lewis Dunk will lead the back line to fortify goalkeeper Jason

In the MU camp, Ten Hag did not change the defense sector by placing Leandro Martinez with Harry Maguire at the heart of defense. This means that Matthijs de Ligt is back on the bench. However, it is possible that De Ligt will be the first choice to have a duet with Martinez. Meanwhile, Noussair Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot acted as full back.

Pivot midfielder Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo will fight Milner for midfield. Furthermore, Alejandro Garnacho, who is getting worse, will start again. He will work hand in hand with Fernandes and Amad Diallo or Rashford. They are ready to support Zirkzee.

With the best formation even though defender Leny Yoro is undergoing the recovery process, MU hopes to maintain a positive trend. However, Brighton is clearly not an easy opponent when playing at home. Last season, MU succeeded in silencing Brighton at home.

Only when they host Brighton at Old Traford, MU was massacred 3-1. This is one of the embarrassing defeats of Ten Hag's troops.

Lineup Forecast Of Wrighton & Hove Albion (4-2-3-1):men; Veltman, Van Hecke, Dunk, Hinshelwood; Milner, Wieffer; Minteh, Pedro, Mitoma; Welbeck

Manchester United (4-2-3-1): Onana; Mazraoui, Maguire, Martinez, Dalot; Casemiro, Mainoo; Amad, Fernandes, Garnacho; Zirkzee