Greenwood back in?
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer got a number of selections wrong against Crystal Palace and two of them were on the right-hand side. Aaron Wan-Bissaka was so inadequate at Luton to the point he had to be told when to venture forward, though Juan Mata scored and so did his replacement, Mason Greenwood.
Greenwood's goal was saveable but he was a threat when he emerged against Palace and had a chance to equalise. As long as United go without strengthening their problem position Greenwood has to start their Premier League games.
Does Lindelof get dropped?
Of his 92 matches as United manager, Solskjaer has never outright dropped United's only Scandinavian squad member and there have been occasions when Victor Lindelof was fortunate to keep his place.
Lindelof was culpable for all three goals against Palace, albeit the penalty award was via a jobsworth official, and there is little or no justification for him to start at Brighton. The caveat is half the United centre halves are either injured or up for sale and the available options are Eric Bailly and Teden Mengi.
Mengi is 18 and with nine minutes of senior football to his name and Bailly has started once in the Premier League in the last 16 months. The Ivory Coast international has at least stayed almost completely free of injury this calendar year and, from his six matches in a partnership with Harry Maguire, United have won all of them.
Will a Van Gaal start be avoided?
United last failed to win either of their opening two Premier League games in 2014 under Louis van Gaal, who was winless in his first three. The standard of the Premier League that season was inadequate enough for United to recover and finish fourth but the competitiveness is becoming more intense with every year now and there are threats to United outside the 'big six' again.
They are already playing catch-up due to their delayed start but can seldom afford any more slip-ups. Leicester, Arsenal and Liverpool already have six points and so could Tottenham by the time they travel to Old Trafford on Sunday week.
Van de Beek to start?
Benching Donny van de Beek was one of Solskjaer's errors last week, particularly given how unfit Paul Pogba appeared following his recovery from coronavirus. Van de Beek played as the 10 at Luton yet Bruno Fernandes is almost certain to resume his playmaking duties and Van de Beek is likelier to start as one of the midfield two.
There is some sense in dropping Pogba to the bench and keeping the experienced Nemanja Matic in midfield with Van de Beek until Pogba is back at his optimum. Alternatively, Van de Beek might partner Pogba in a new long-term partnership.
De Gea to stay in?
Both of United's 'keepers have had encouraging individual starts to the season. David de Gea's instinctive block from Jordan Ayew was a reminder of his peerless reflexes and he finally saved a penalty, only for it to be declared null and void by a robot at Stockley Park. Dean Henderson's superb save on his debut with United 1-0 up at Luton took on greater significance with the final score.
The expectation is De Gea will continue his league duty at Brighton, where Henderson will doubtless start in next week's inconvenient League Cup tie.
