Duffy: Nothing To Lose In Cup Tie

Brighton & Hove Albion defender Shane Duffy insists that the Seagulls can head to Old Trafford for their Emirates FA Cup quarter-final without pressure.

Albion have reached the last eight of the historic competition for the first time since 1986 during the current campaign, and the Irishman believes that the change in focus following the weekend’s defeat to Everton in the Premier League would benefit the team.

He said, “It’s a good opportunity to make amends for the last result, there’s no pressure on the lads and it’s a great chance to get to Wembley.

“It’s a different competition which means we can change our focus as well.

“What we can’t do is let the last result in the league [against Everton] affect our thinking too much."

The last time the two sides met was in the league at the end of November, where Chris Hughton’s men put in a good performance against Jose Mourinho’s side and plenty of plaudits for the performance.

The contest was settled by a deflected Ashley Young strike that found it’s way past Maty Ryan after taking a sizeable knock off the outstretched Lewis Dunk, and Duffy emphasised that the performance in the north-west that afternoon should give Albion encouragement ahead of the contest.

“We played well there in November when nobody expected much from us, and we probably caught them off guard with how we did.

“We were better than they expected us to be and it’s a big game to look forward to.

“It’s about going there with the aim of making the last four, if we can do that then it would be great for the club.”

The Red Devils were 2-1 winners over Liverpool in their last Premier League outing, with Marcus Rashford’s first-half brace enough to strengthen their grip on a top four place with nine league matches remaining.

The Seagulls defender highlighted the task ahead of Hughton’s men, but also stressed that the onus would be on the hosts - which could work in the favour of his team.

“We know what we’re up against - they’re a very good side.

“Not many teams go to Old Trafford and beat Manchester United, so there’s no pressure on us.

“We’ll just go there and give it our all, as we always do, and hopefully that’s enough to see us get a good result.”