An early start to this weekend’s Premier League fixtures sees the action go to the South Coast of England as promoted outfit Brighton play host to Manchester United.
Chris Hughton’s men have a five-point gap over themselves and the relegation zone but have not got cause for celebration just yet.
With several teams still having three league matches to go between now and the end of the campaign, there is still plenty of time for movement up and down the table and you get the feeling that the Seagulls might need every one of those points that they have over the likes of Swansea and Southampton.
That is because they have an almighty difficult run in, with not one but two Manchester clubs on the horizon in the next few days. Of all the teams in the bottom end of the table, you could argue that Brighton have the toughest season end of them all.
Looking at the table, it looks as if it will be more a case of whether the teams below Brighton can get the necessary points on the board to claw themselves out of trouble, the East Sussex side might well be safe, but they will want to make sure of that by not relying on other team’s fortunes.
To do so they will need to turn in a similar performance to the one that they offered last month when at home to Tottenham, they came from behind to earn a spirited 1-1 draw in front of their own fans.
Brighton have not lost any of their last six matches, but they have not won any either – drawing three and losing three. It looks like they are staggering to the finish line after what has been a marathon season.
If they have got anything left in the tank, then they will certainly be tested against a Manchester United side who are ending their season with a flourish. The F.A. Cup finalists come here knowing that a win would see them all but guarantee second place in the table.
Jose Mourinho knows that he will have to settle for being the best of the rest, but at least they have the opportunity to finish strongly and in turn lie down some foundations for the following campaign, as they bid to get a lot closer to cross town rivals Manchester City.
Last weekend the Red Devils, got the better of old foes Arsenal thanks to an injury time Marouane Fellaini winner, it may not be the classic rivalry of days gone by but there is no doubting that Mourinho will have pleased that Arsene Wenger’s last trip to Old Trafford was one that ended in defeat.
For United, the key now is to keep this positive momentum going until the F.A. Cup Final on Saturday May 19, not only do they want to arrive at Wembley in the best of form but there is also the added incentive of players playing for a place in the showpiece final.
That means that none of the squad can afford to drop off their intensity in the next fortnight if they want to be in with a chance of delivering more silverware. United will be fired up for this one and will be too much for Brighton to handle. A routine away win for the Red Devils this Friday.