Manchester United v Brighton Betting Tips [18 December 2021]

Manchester United will be back to action with a home game against Brighton as the Premier League goes into the 18th week of action. United go to the game placed sixth with 27 points while Brighton are 13th on 20 points. The hosts had no activity in midweek after the postponement of their away game against Brentford and will thus be the fresher ones here. They’ve done well since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s departure, and go to this game unbeaten in the six matches after the Norwegian’s exit. A lot of attention has been put on the defence and it is paying off, though at the detriment of the attack. United have scored more than a goal in just one of their last five matches, and five of their last six games have produced under 2.5 goals. They have three clean sheets in the last six matches and only conceded more than once in one of the six – against Arsenal, a game they won 3-2.

Brighton started the season really brightly and at some point were very close to going top of the standings. They seemed like a team that would contest for a top four place, but all that has fizzled out and they are in the bottom half. They haven’t won any of their last 12 matches across all competitions. Here they come straight from a 1-0 home loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers and they have failed to score in three of their last five matches. In the last 12 matches, they’ve scored more than a goal in just one game – the 2-2 draw with Leicester City, which they went on to lose on post match penalties. Each of their last six matches have produced under 2.5 goals and they have just two clean sheets in the last 10 matches. Eight draws in their 16 league matches this season places them as one of the teams with the highest number of draws. Meanwhile, they have six straight losses against Manchester United; their last win in this fixture was back in 2018.

Manchester United have placed a lot more focus on defence as a means to stabilize their season, and it is working well. The other outcome is that it means they are scoring less. In their last six matches, five have ended in under 2.5 goals. Brighton have also been low scorers this season. Each of their last six matches has produced under 2.5 goals and we feel this match will go along that line too.