Why Bruno Fernandes Did Not Start for Man Utd vs. Brighton

Manchester United host Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup third round fixture, but they’ll have to try and progress in the competition with talisman and captain Bruno Fernandes starting the game on the bench.

Fernandes has played every minute of Man United’s opening five games of the 2026–27 season and is already on four goals and one assist to start the term. Still, with the marathon season still in its infancy and the schedule offering no respite, Michael Carrick has opted to offer some rest to his electrifying playmaker.

“The fixtures are coming thick and fast, and we have a squad full of talent with everybody pushing to play,” Carrick said prior to the match against Brighton. “As a group of coaches, players and staff, we want to play as many games as we possibly can this season, so we need to progress through matches like this one and make sure we keep competing on every front.”

The early rounds of the Carabao Cup usually offer an opportunity for big clubs to rotate their sides, while still fielding a team strong enough to secure a win. It comes at a risk, though, as defeat means losing a chance at a piece of silverware with the season only in September.

Still, Carrick has gambled, resting some key starters for Brighton’s visit, including Fernandes.

Man Utd’s Confirmed Starting Lineup vs. Brighton

Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Karl Darlow (GK); Diogo Dalot, Leny Yoro, Ayden Heaven, Noussair Mazraoui; Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans; Shea Lacey, Mason Mount, Marcus Rashford; Benjamin Šeško.

Substitutes: Senne Lammens (GK), Harry Maguire, Bruno Fernandes, Harry Amass, Tyler Fletcher, Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha, Joshua Zirkzee.

Carrick Gambles on Youth for Carabao Cup Clash

Michael Carrick is trusting young talents to deliver. | Marc Atkins/Getty Images

Only three players that started for United in Sunday’s defeat to city-rivals Manchester City kept their place in the XI for the match against Brighton. The three-day turn around has seen Carrick rotate his side, trusting a crop of young talents to secure a win against an equally rotated Brighton side.

The teenage duo of Ayden Heaven and Shea Lacey are both in Wednesday’s starting lineup. Heaven will operate next to 20-year-old Leny Yoro in the heart of defense, while Lacey will start on the right wing.

Summer recruit Youri Tielemans will captain Man United and operate in midfield, with Marcus Rashford also keeping his place in the XI down the left wing. Mason Mount will take up Fernandes’s usual place as the No. 10.

Without playing a single match, United have already made it further in the Carabao Cup than a season ago, when they lost their cup opener to League Two side Grimsby Town. A year later, the Red Devils are desperate to avoid a similar fate in their Carabao Cup debut while also looking to bounce back from a painful Manchester derby defeat.

“Your support on Sunday was brilliant as always,” Carrick said. “And no one at the club takes it for granted that we can once again count on you to get behind the team this evening.”

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