After a tough restart to the Premier League, head coach Graham Potter has utilised the week his side have had to prepare to face Manchester United this evening.
The victory over Arsenal was quickly followed by a draw at Leicester City, with Potter using the last seven days to try and refresh the players as much as possible.
He said, “We had quite a tough start in terms of the emotions of the Arsenal game and then to go away quickly to Leicester where it was a hot evening.
“So we just used the time to freshen up and give them a couple of days away from the pressure of the Premier League and to prepare knowing we are going to be in a really intense period.”
United are yet to pick up a point in a Premier League match at the Amex, having lost both their previous encounters on the south coast. Indeed, they haven’t beaten Albion in Sussex since 1982.
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While Potter would be more than happy for that run to continue, he doesn’t think that history will be playing on the minds of tonight’s visitors.
“I suppose there are bogey grounds and I am happy if The Amex is a bogey ground for Manchester United,” he added. “But from my perspective we can’t rely on that, we have to make sure our players are ready to fight and run and play to the maximum.
“We played against them earlier on in the season and they were better than us and deservedly won. So we know from first hand experience that if we’re not 100% it’s going to be difficult for us.”