Ten Hag Unfazed By Fernandes' Fitness Ahead Of Crucial Brighton Match

Erik ten Hag remains unconcerned about Bruno Fernandes' fitness ahead of Manchester United's final Premier League game. Fernandes excelled in an attacking midfield role during United's 3-2 victory over Newcastle on Wednesday. Despite being forced off due to injury late in the game, Ten Hag is not overly worried.

"Bruno didn't miss much and he's fit," Ten Hag told United's media channels. "I would say that is one of my least concerns if he can keep going. He's fresh and in very good form, but the others you mentioned, it's important [to get game time]. They missed some games. Marcus Rashford, of course. Lisandro Martinez missed almost the whole season. So every minute that he can get, we have to give him."

Should United win and Newcastle fail to beat Brentford, the Red Devils will secure European football next season, even if they lose the FA Cup final against Manchester City at Wembley on May 25. Ten Hag's future remains uncertain, but Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi highlighted United's injury issues as a significant factor in their challenging campaign.

"They have suffered a lot of injuries, problems, but they are still a very good team," De Zerbi said. "Ten Hag's Ajax team has been one of the best in quality of play. For United, this season, it's been tough playing without a lot of important players."

Brighton are entrenched in mid-table after failing to replicate last season's performance levels. However, two of their players—Pascal Gross and striker Denis Undav, who is on loan at Stuttgart—were called up for Germany's Euro 2024 squad on Thursday.

"I am happy for Undav. He is becoming a great player," De Zerbi said. "Pascal is not a surprise—he deserves to play for the national team."

Brighton - James Milner: James Milner has appeared in the final game of 16 different Premier League campaigns. If he plays in this match, he'll be the first player in the competition's history to do so in 17 different seasons.

Manchester United - Bruno Fernandes: Fernandes has created 113 chances in the Premier League this season, 14 more than any other player. He also created the most chances last season (119) and is the first player to do so in back-to-back seasons since Eden Hazard in 2013-14 (93) and 2014-15 (100).

Match Prediction: Draw

In their first 19 Premier League matches this season, Brighton were the fifth-highest scorers with 38 goals and had a conversion rate of 13.3%. In their last 18 games since the turn of the year, only Everton (15) have scored fewer goals than Brighton (17), with their conversion rate of 6.6% being the worst among all teams during this period.

United have lost their final league game in two of the last five seasons (W3), as many times as they had in the previous 33 campaigns (W23 D8). Brighton have lost their final game in four of their six Premier League campaigns, with exceptions being a 2-1 win at Burnley (2019-20) and a 3-1 home win against West Ham (2021-22).

Brighton have won each of their last four Premier League games against United—the last side to beat the Red Devils in five consecutive league games was Norwich City between 1988 and 1990.

OPTA Win Probability

Closing out the 2023/24 #PL season #MUFC pic.twitter.com/w0Nzr0idDb