Brighton & Hove Albion defender Shane Duffy urged his team-mates to make the most of the pressure placed on Manchester United after their surprise exit from the Champions League at Old Trafford.
The Seagulls take on Jose Mourinho’s men in the quarter-finals of the Emirates FA Cup this evening, and although the Irishman expects a difficult game, he also showed his belief in pulling off a cup shock.
He said, “They probably didn’t expect to get knocked out [of the Champions League] but it’s a huge club and I have no doubt that they’ll win trophies again.
“Hopefully there’s a bit of pressure on them, now they’re out of the Champions League, and we can go there and take advantage of that.
“We’ll try and keep the crowd quiet. You never know, you’ve seen cup shocks already and that’s what we’re aiming for.
“But if they click on the day, they can beat anyone. They beat Liverpool last weekend, so we know their strengths and understand it’s going to be a very tough ask.”
Duffy is yet to feature for Albion in the competition this season, with Connor Goldson and Uwe Huenemeier starting in central defence, but the 26-year-old expressed his excitement to play if given the nod by Hughton.
“It’s a good one to be involved in and I’m looking forward to it. I haven't played in the cup yet, but hopefully I get the chance to on Saturday. It couldn’t get much bigger.
“You have to realise that it’s a squad game as well. The others lads who have played have done brilliantly. The manager knows I play the international games as well, so he rotates things.
“We’ve got to go there with no fear and try to put in at least half the performance that we did up there [in November].
“I know we didn’t have a great result at the weekend, but we’re a confident squad at the minute. The reward of getting to a semi-final is huge, it would be massive for the club.”
Albion fans can watch the defender's full look ahead to this evening's game at Old Trafford on Seagulls TV by clicking here.