Every word from Fabian Hurzeler before Manchester United in the FA Cup

Main Club Sponsor

TICKETS

SHOP

The head coach wants to build on his team's performances since the start of the year.

2026-01-09T15:10+00:00

Fabian Hurzeler's team reached the quarter-finals of last season's FA Cup. 📸 by James Boardman.

Fabian Hurzeler discussed his hopes for this season's Emirates FA Cup and how his side are preparing to face third round opposition Manchester United on Sunday.

How is Yankuba Minteh? As well as Babis Kostoulas and Joel Veltman who were missing the other night…

Yankuba will be assessed. We need to see how far he is on Friday in the training session. It's a dead leg so there could be a chance but we have to see how he is. Dead legs sometimes needs time, sometimes they heal quicker. Babis Kostoulas and Joel Veltman should be an option to start the game.

How do you approach this game in terms of the squad? In the EFL Cup you changed it around a little bit, but you're also playing a Premier League side. Will you use the likes of Jason Steele and other squad members?

Jason Steele could be involved against Manchester United on Sunday. 📸 by James Boardman.

There will definitely be opportunities for others, but we take this competition very seriously and see this competition as a chance and that's why we only give players a chance who really, really deserve it. There will definitely be changes regarding the starting 11.

How much are you looking forward to your second campaign in this competition? There’s a lot of history behind it. How much are you relishing it, bearing in mind what happened last year as well?

It's do or die, it's one game. You have to perform to your highest level. In one game you have to have all the small margins. In the end, it's about winning. I think we need to get an understanding of what do we need to do on the pitch to win these kind of games. It's a good chance to prove to ourselves how far we are with our development. In the last weeks we weren't able to always get the result we want to have. Maybe we also haven’t got the results we deserve from the performances. I think that's also a good opportunity for us to prove how far we are in our phase, regarding getting the results in the right moment.

I know the draw has been made and you can't change it, but in terms of being away from home against Premier League opposition, against a team that you've already played this season, how big is this challenge in terms of what you would've wanted and what you can gain from it?

On the one side, you can complain but on the other side if you want to achieve something you have to beat the best teams. So that's why we we're not a club who complains about these kind of things. These are circumstances we can't change. Of course the travel is more intense than if you play at home, but that's normal. It's not an excuse. We go there to get to the next round. We know it's a big opportunity. We know it's also a big opponent, an opponent with big individual quality. We have to go all in.

A lot has happened within that club and there's probably more changes to come, but do you see a change in style immediately from United's game against Burnley and the interim management team that's been put in place?

I think it's very difficult. There was a change regarding the defensive formation - they changed to a back four. But they're still the same players on the pitch. I think it's not too easy for a coach to have an impact within two or three days. I don’t know how many training sessions they had together. We have to focus on us, we can prepare our team individually to the opponents they will face because I think the individual players won't change that much. But then it's really about us. It's about sticking to our principles for 90 minutes. That's the main focus.

How aware are you of the history going way back in terms of losing in a final against Manchester United, losing in a semi-final against Manchester United two years ago and never having beaten them in this competition?

These are statistics. I know them, definitely. The semi-final was more recent – I was alive for that one! The other things that happened a little bit earlier, but I know of them. It's a good reason to go there and try to change the history and we know we are capable of winning this game. The experiences of the games you mentioned won't affect us. In two days there are new circumstances and new players on the pitch. We try to create new history.

You started the game against Manchester City on the front foot. You regularly got in behind them. Would you be looking to do the same against Manchester United at Old Trafford?

Brighton's first away trip of 2026 takes Fabian Hurzeler's men to the Etihad to face Pep Guardiola's Manchester City. Highlights in partnership with @mpbcom. Buy, sell and trade used camera gear. https://bit.ly/MPB457

It's always nice to start like this, even nicer when you score because an early goal always help change the dynamic of the game. We were happy with the performance. We could be more mature in front of goal and used the chances we created better, then there might have been a different result. But regarding the performance, we want to go to Manchester again and try to start on the front foot and intensely because that's our style of play. These are our principles.

What different challenges do you expect Manchester United to pose under Darren Fletcher as opposed to Ruben Amorim?

Ruben Amorim departed Manchester United at the start of the week. 📸 by James Boardman.

We only saw one game against Burnley, and it's difficult to get so many conclusions out of one game. The main thing is what we can really control and that’s how we prepare for the game, how we step into this game. How is our mindset? How high is our standard? How are our actions regarding the things we can control? Then we might have to react at a half-time. But before that it’s really difficult to prepare because they’ve only played one game.

You must have looked at their performance against Burnley – the 2-2 draw. What differences did you see from them from a tactical point of view?

They changed to a back four. They had one clear 10 on the pitch, one clear striker. They played a lot of crosses, especially from the left side. They have good crossers on the right side. The main thing is it's still United, still a big club with big players. They showed it again against Burnley that they can score in every second of the game, that they can easily change the dynamics of the game with one action. So they were 1-0 down and I think within ten minutes they changed the score. I think in the end they deserved to win, but also Burnley never stopped playing. That was a typical game for the Premier League at the moment. Very competitive. Very, very equal.

Benjamin Sesko was heavily involved. He seemed to get more of the ball score to goals. What do you make of him and was he a player that you followed in the Bundesliga during your time in Germany?

Yes, I followed him. I think he can be a big player for United. He has everything that a really good striker needs. He's very strong, physically strong. He's fast. He can score with his head. He is technical, can find good solutions in tight spaces. I like him as a player. I think he didn't have the easiest start, but against Burnley it was impressive what he showed. So we definitely have to take care of him, but not only of him, they have other really good players, especially the offensive players. I know they're still missing some players because of the Africa Cup of Nations but they still have enough quality to hurt every opponent in the league. It's not only Sesko, there are a lot of players who can make the difference. So we need to prepare for all of them.

Tony Bloom said at the beginning of the campaign that it would be brilliant to get back into Europe, and another ambition is to win a trophy. This is a great opportunity for Brighton to do that…

It’s a great opportunity, but we know that we need to be at the highest level and it's really step by step. We have to take the first step now and then it's an ongoing competition, but the first step is always the most important and therefore we try to go there and win it. But we know we need the best performance. We know we need to be on our highest level, but we always say that we are a club with big ambitions, especially our owner, and therefore we have to fulfil these expectations. That's something we would love to do. We go there, we try to give our best and then we see what happens.

How is Diego Gomez? How have his spirits been after the game against City?

Diego Gomez joined Albion in January 2025. 📸 by James Boardman.

He kept going and he will keep going. That's his attitude. I think that's most important that he gets an understanding of how important it's to attack the opponent's box and to be in this position. Of course it's an unlucky moment. Everyone wants to score. I think it's a similar chance he had against Liverpool. But for me the most important is that he keeps trying, keeps being there, keeps staying alive.

The same for Yasin?

I think he had two errors against City, but that's our way of playing and we really try to give these kind of players the support they need to improve. That's what we have to do also in phases where they're not scoring, where they make individual mistakes. That's our way. And therefore we really need to push them. I see players that really want to improve, they really want to learn from these kind of things. To answer your question, I see a Diego with a brilliant effort. I see Diego with a brilliant attitude towards football, with a brilliant attitude towards his own development. I'm sure that he will get back to scoring goals because he's always a danger for us.

Pascal Gross was signed a week ago today. What impact has he made since his second arrival?

Pascal Gross came close to an early goal at Manchester City. 📸 by James Boardman.

Everyone saw the impact on the pitch, he has a special calmness and a special understanding of the game. He gives a good mix of defining the rhythm of the game. That's the one part on the pitch. But the most important is off the pitch, he's very influential because he’s a great leader, he's a role model for the young players and he's a good connector. He understands different dynamics. He's observing things. He is doing everything for the club, and I think that's not normal in this kind business. He really puts his ego to one side for the success of this club. That's why the fans love him that much, because they really feel it. We have all felt it here in this building since he arrived. He's here to help us and he will get an understanding for everyone in the building. That’s the most important influence he has had so far.