Former Manchester United manager has shown Erik ten Hag exactly how to beat Brighton

Manchester United are coming up against a familiar foe at the weekend.

Erik ten Hag began his time in charge with an opening day defeat to Brighton at Old Trafford, last season. The Seagulls were dominant and the narrow scoreline flattered the Reds, who would go on to suffer an emphatic loss to Brentford, the following week.

By the time the two sides crossed paths again in an FA Cup semi-final, Ten Hag had successfully solved his team’s early issues. In a tight game at Wembley, penalties were eventually required and United emerged victorious. However, Brighton swiftly got their revenge, less than two weeks later, with a 1-0 home win.

United head into this weekend’s fixture on a somewhat unsteady footing after suffering two defeats in their opening four games. Plenty of questions have been asked of the club’s midfield and Brighton will be keen to probe, once more, after making a confident start to the new campaign. However, West Ham have already provided Erik ten Hag with the necessary gameplan to defeat Roberto De Zerbi’s side.

READ: Jadon Sancho open to leaving Manchester United amid fallout with Erik ten Hag

READ: The end is nigh for Sancho after what happened to the last three United players who were exiled

The Hammers produced a 3-1 away win at Brighton, last month, to hand the Seagulls their sole defeat of the season so far. Goals from James Ward-Prowse, Jarrod Bowen, and Michail Antonio provided West Ham with an impressive victory on the south coast and one of the goalscorers emphasised the importance of David Moyes’ game plan.

"A lot of effort went into the game plan, you have to respect Brighton," Ward-Prowse told BBC Match of the Day. "We denied Brighton space and were compact and clinical. We had the