It only took one match for the mood at Old Trafford to fall as questions have once again been raised surrounding Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after Manchester United's defeat against Crystal Palace last week.
Against Palace, United looked lethargic, bereft of ideas in attack, and lacking intensity in defence and midfield.
New signing Donny van de Beek got on the scoresheet coming off the bench which was a positive, but the visitors eventually won 3-1 after former United player Wilfried Zaha added insult to injury by scoring two goals.
Afterwards, both the Norwegian boss and full-back Luke Shaw insisted that the squad needed to be strengthened before the transfer window shuts.
A week later, with a League Cup victory sandwiched in between the two league fixtures, they have still not brought anyone else in.
They continue to be linked with Porto captain Alex Telles, and although personal terms have been agreed, they are still negotiating with the Portuguese side over the €40m fee.
They are also, crucially, no further ahead in their pursuit of Jadon Sancho, or any other alternative.
Axel Tuanzebe and Phil Jones are the only certain injury absentees for United against Brighton.
A raft of changes were made for the League Cup so expect them to be reversed against the Seasiders.
David De Gea conceded three goals in the opening match against Palace, while Dean Henderson impressed versus Luton midweek, but expect Solskjaer to keep faith in the Spaniard.
Man Utd predicted XI v Brighton:
Bruno Fernandes 
Paul Pogba 
Anthony Martial 
David De Gea 
Man Utd 
Brighton 
