Why Harry Maguire is only on the bench for Manchester United vs Brighton

Ralf Rangnick saw no reason to restore Harry Maguire to the Manchester United starting XI to face Brighton after seeing his side keep a clean sheet in the captain's absence on Monday.

Rangnick has picked the same team to face Brighton that disposed of Brentford 3-0 at Old Trafford and while Maguire is back fit and available, he is only the bench.

That means Victor Lindelof and Raphael Varane continue their partnership at the heart of defence and Rangnick was happy to pick an unchanged team with everyone fit and available.

READ MORE: Brighton vs United LIVE team news and updates

“Yes, I think there was no reason for me to make any changes bearing in mind all the players are still fit and available. After a 3-0 win with a clean sheet there weren’t any reasons to take players out of the team," he told MUTV.

“No reason to change anything, I know Harry would have wanted to play but we had other games where Harry played and Raphael or Victor didn’t. This is part of the game, we have a couple of good central defenders. I decided to not change anything."

Fred has to settle for a place on the bench again, but Rangnick has confirmed the Brazilian is likely to come on at some point at the Amex.

“I know how important Fred can be, especially defensively for us but also offensively. Nema played well, Scotty played well, so I decided to have Fred on the bench and it’s pretty likely he will come on during the game," he said.

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