How Man Utd can exploit Brighton’s biggest weakness, Matheus Cunha could be key

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Manchester United will hope to secure a third consecutive win this weekend when Brighton comes to Old Trafford, with one glaring weakness clear to exploit.

The highs of last weekend will remain fresh in the memory of Manchester United. It was a first win at Anfield since 2016, but things won’t get easier this coming weekend.

On Saturday evening, United face Brighton in a game which hasn’t been kind to the Red Devils in recent years.

However, Kaoru Mitoma is set to be missing for Brighton, which is a big miss for the visiting side this weekend. Meanwhile, another narrative will be Carlos Baleba on his United audition ahead of 2026 transfer interest.

Within the game, there is one clear avenue to success for United, through the Seagulls’ biggest weakness.

Manchester United must take advantage of Bart Verbruggen

Manchester United, for all the talk of a crisis, comes into this weekend ninth in the league, one spot ahead of Brighton, and therefore, there should be plenty of confidence.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
8	Crystal PalaceCrystal Palace	8	3	4	1	12	8	4	13
9	Manchester UnitedManchester United	8	4	1	3	11	12	-1	13
10	BrightonBrighton	8	3	3	2	12	11	1	12

Confidence should be further inspired when United’s flying attacking unit steps out onto the pitch and sees one of the league’s poorest shot stoppers in goal.

This is in relation to Bart Verbruggen. The young Dutch goalkeeper, who is having a poor season, is statistically one of the worst keepers in the league.

Verbruggen isn’t faced with a lot of shots, testament to Brighton’s defence, but when he is tested, he is a big weakness for his team, and therefore, the message should be clear from Ruben Amorim.

Shoot, shoot, and shoot again. Testing Verbruggen will result in goals because he simply isn’t good enough to keep United at bay, and Matheus Cunha will be key in exploiting this.

• READ: Who is Man Utd signing Matheus Cunha? Age, position, stats, release clause and Rio Ferdinand recommendation

Matheus Cunha can exploit Verbruggen for Manchester United

United should be looking to shoot every chance possible against Brighton, and this will involve Cunha, who has averaged the most shots per 90 for United this season at 3.5.

Cunha is becoming unplayable for United, and this game feels like the one in which he could truly announce himself for the club, scoring a goal or two with his shots from the edge of the box, potentially deadly to Verbruggen.

In addition, Cunha’s impressive work rate could be key for United pressing and taking advantage of Verbruggen’s poor passing, making him go long where he has among the worst completion rates in the league.

Therefore, having Cunha with Mason Mount and Bryan Mbeumo to press high should see Brighton struggle to play out from the back, making Verbruggen play to his weakness.

An additional consideration for Amorim would be how poor Verbruggen is in the air; corners should be placed directly on top of him, similar to how clubs targeted Altay Bayindir earlier this season.