Manchester United will face Brighton & Hove Albion at Old Trafford on the opening day of the 2022/23 Premier League campaign under Erik ten Hag.
It will be the Dutchman's first competitive fixture of his United career as he looks to turn fortunes around at the Theatre of Dreams against the team that put the most recent dagger into the club.
The full fixture list for the season has been confirmed by the Premier League, and this will be a very difficult first test for United under Ten Hag.
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As a manager who looks to play attractive football, Ten Hag will appreciate the style from Brighton under Graham Potter, but he will also realise that they could prove a major threat if the team aren't fully prepared.
With a pre-season lined up that will start on the 27 June and end on 31 July, the team should be fully prepared for the opening encounter against The Seagulls on the 7 August at 14:00 BST.
It was just last month when United visited the south coast and were humiliated 4-0 by the team in blue and white.
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It was close to being the worst game of the season in a year where Manchester City and Liverpool truly embarrassed the Reds too.
However, that was a rare result for Brighton in this fixture, in fact, it was the first time the didn't lose against United since August 2018.
Ten Hag will be aiming to have his team fully prepared so that they do not slip up on the opening day, fortunately the side have a good record in recent years when returning to Premier League action.
Last years opening fixture is one that United fans would love to recreate this following season.
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A 5-1 victory against Leeds made it seem like the club were going to push on. Raphael Varane was unveiled onto the pitch and Jadon Sancho made his debut from the bench.
It was a perfect game.
This game might not have the rivalry, but United will be wanting revenge for what happened at the end of last season.
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Following on from this fixture, United will have a tough opening list to the Premier League season, with games against Liverpool, Leicester City and Arsenal in their opening 10 games.
This has been a time of the season where United have disappointed in recent years.
However, with a full pre-season under their belts, there is no room for excuses despite the fact that there are some challenging fixtures in the first 10 of the season.
After a dreadful year last term, many fans will be hoping that the next is extremely different with Ten Hag at the helm.
Topics: Erik Ten Hag, Football, Manchester United, Premier League, Brighton And Hove Albion
Cain Smith