Manchester United can take a huge step towards Champions League qualification with a win over Brighton and Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium on Thursday evening.

Our 1-0 victory over Aston Villa on Sunday means there is now a seven-point cushion between us and fifth place in the Premier League table as we head into the final month of the season, with Liverpool now our closest competitors after their eventful 4-3 win over Tottenham Hotspur.

The high-flying Seagulls are eighth, four points behind the Merseysiders but with two games in hand on them. Roberto De Zerbi’s side harbour ambitions of qualifying for European football for the first time in their history, but United can virtually knock them out of the top-four race with victory on the south coast.

The Reds have six league games remaining, including the trip to Brighton, and when he does return to the side, Alejandro Garnacho will provide the attack with a significant boost ahead of the run-in and June’s Emirates FA Cup final with Manchester City.

However, it is not yet clear if the 18-year-old – who signed a new long-term contract last week – will be ready for this game, having only returned to full training recently.

Erik ten Hag will hold his pre-match press conference on Wednesday, when he could provide a further update on the make-up of his squad to take to the south coast.

Harry Maguire is likely to be among the travelling party, with our club captain returning to action as a substitute against Villa following a brief absence due to a training-ground injury.

Lisandro Martinez is sidelined for the season, but Scott McTominay and Raphael Varane, plus goalkeeper Tom Heaton, are expected to be available at some point in the coming weeks. Donny van de Beek is a long-term absentee but he reported at the weekend he is “not far away” from a return.

Brighton made five changes for Saturday’s 6-0 hammering of Wolverhampton Wanderers, as De Zerbi looks to balance his squad’s own injury issues and fatigue from a heavy schedule which will see them play a further seven times before 28 May.

Seagulls right-back Joel Veltman is the latest addition to their list of absentees, having limped off during the second half at the weekend.

Pascal Gross scored twice in the heavy victory at the Amex Stadium, but would once again be required to fill in at right-back if Veltman is unavailable, with Tariq Lamptey having been ruled out for the season due to a knee injury.

Promising young striker Evan Ferguson is a doubt due to the foot injury which kept him out of the recent Emirates FA Cup semi-final between the sides. In his ongoing absence, fellow forwards Deniz Undav and Danny Welbeck each netted a brace against Wolves.

Long-term absentees Adam Lallana (thigh), Jakub Moder (knee) and Jeremy Sarmiento (foot) are set to be unavailable again on Thursday.