Two changes Manchester United should make for their FA Cup semifinal clash against Brighton

Manchester United will face Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup semifinals at Wembley on Sunday, April 23. The Red Devils will be hoping to bounce back strongly after a dismal 3-0 (5-2 aggregate) defeat to Sevilla in the Europa League quarterfinals on Thursday.

Erik ten Hag's team will enter the semifinals as the favorites and should make it through to the final. However, Brighton have played some fantastic football since the appointment of Roberto De Zerbi in September 2022, and won't be easily beaten.

Let’s take a look at a couple of changes United should make for Sunday’s semifinal:

#1. Manchester United should start with Victor Lindelof and Luke Shaw in central defense:

Harry Maguire’s disappointing season for the club continued on Thursday, as he lost possession after receiving a poor pass from David de Gea, leading to Sevilla's opener. With Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez out with injuries, Luke Shaw, who came in as a substitute against Sevilla, should start as a centre-back against Brighton.

Shaw should be accompanied by Lindelof instead of Maguire in the heart of United's defense. The Manchester United captain has failed to provide solidity to their defense in the absence of Varane and Martinez.

Lindelof is considerably faster than Maguire and also has good positional awareness. Shaw’s absence from the left flank will affect United’s attacking threat adversely, but Tyrell Malacia can be trusted to do a decent job in the left-back position.

#2. Playing with a 4-1-4-1 formation:

Bruno Fernandes can form a potent midfield combination with Christian Eriksen

Manchester United have had a grueling schedule this season as they have made deep runs in all three cup competitions. Hence, they should go all out in attack and try to finish the match within 90 minutes.

The Red Devils should employ Casemiro as the lone defensive midfielder and allow Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes attacking freedom as the two central midfielders.

Both Eriksen and Fernandes are capable of playing incisive passes and can be effective in transition by unleashing wingers Marcus Rashford and Antony.

Fernandes missed the second leg against Sevilla due to a suspension and should be raring to go against Brighton. Even Casemiro has the ability to play long through balls and hence, Manchester United can really threaten with their counter-attacks.

Anthony Martial should start as the centre-forward, leaving Rashford to attack the inside-left channel. Rashford has already scored 28 goals this season, and there is no reason why he cannot improve his tally against Brighton.

Manchester United can also depend on the services of players like Jadon Sancho and Wout Weghorst to make a late impact off the bench.