Mikael Silvestre In Favour Of Rasmus Højlund Starting Against Brighton

Premier League football returns this weekend with Manchester United hosting in-form Brighton and Hove Albion.

The Red Devils are smarting under the loss to Arsenal and a myriad of off-field issues involving Antony and Jadon Sancho.

Erik Ten Hag will have his work cut out to get a result against the Seagulls, who’ve been a bogey side for the Red Devils in recent years. Brighton did the league double over Manchester United last season and have been victorious in three of their last five league meetings.

We sat down with former Manchester United star Mikael Silvestre to discuss this fixture.

In this article:

• A Fit Rasmus Højlund Should Start
• Aaron Wan-Bissaka vs Kaoru Mitoma
• Evan Ferguson is no Erling Håland

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Rasmus Højlund Should Start If He’s Fit

Silvestre is fully in support of Rasmus Højlund getting his first start if he’s fit enough to do so. The former Man Utd defender says that even if the Danish striker is not fit enough to play the 90 minutes, it would still make sense for him to start and play an hour or so.

“If he is fit, I think he should be starting against Brighton. The sooner, the better and even if he doesn´t play 90 minutes, I think it would be good to have him in the starting lineup.”

The four-time Premier League winner gave Højlund’s cameo against Arsenal as the reason why he’s in support of him starting. Silvestre stated that Højlund has the ingredients to do well and now needs regular minutes to get to his top level.

“He showed on a few occasions against Arsenal why he was recruited. He is strong, and he has a big desire to do well.”

“He showed that he has the ingredients to do well, and now he just needs some minutes to reach his top level.”

Stopping Kaoru Mitoma Is Not Just Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s Responsibility

The Frenchman discussed the left side of Brighton’s attack potentially being a pain point for the Red Devils with Kaoru Mitoma running the show.

The Japanese winger will be up against Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and while Silvestre praised the English defender’s ability in one-versus-one situations, he iterates that stopping Mitoma is not a one-man job.

“The left side is one of the key areas for Brighton. It’s very active and very lively. But it’s not only up to Wan Bissaka to stop Mitoma. It’s not a one-man job.”

“It’s not only one guy having the responsibility to stop him, but of course, Wan-Bissaka is excellent one against one. He is one of the best in the league. So, he has the quality to stop Mitoma.”

Evan Ferguson Should Not Be A Major Threat At Old Trafford

Irish striker Evan Ferguson is one of the hottest prospects in the Premier League right now, and he added to the hype around him with a hat-trick against Newcastle.

Silvestre, however, doesn’t think that Ferguson can repeat that performance against Man Utd as he got a lot of liberty against the Magpies, and he’s no Erling Håland.

‘I’ve watched his goals, and I think he was given a lot of freedom against Newcastle, so it’s important that United’s defenders are tight with him.”

“He’s not exactly Erling Håland, so it shouldn’t be a specific threat because United are at Old Trafford, and you have to be strong at home. Hopefully, Man Utd get their first clean sheet.”

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