Man Utd chief confronts Premier League before Brighton clash as complaint made

Manchester United chief executive Omar Berrada has challenged the Premier League over the quantity of midweek home fixtures they face between now and Christmas. United welcome Brighton and Hove Albion to Old Trafford on Saturday evening.

After they face Fabian Hurzeler's team, United will not feature in another weekend home fixture until Boxing Day - a Friday - when they play Newcastle United. Every match United contest at Old Trafford in the lead-up to Christmas falls on a midweek slot, meaning they will kick off during evening hours.

According to reports, Berrada has contacted the Premier League to "express concern" regarding how the fixtures have fallen. The Athletic understands Berrada's discussion with league officials proved "constructive" with the United chief executive emphasising "the cultural importance of match-going fans to the fabric of the English game, and also allegedly urged the Premier League to finalise their decisions about televised games at an earlier point, enabling supporters to arrange their Christmas plans around kick-off times.

Berrada's dialogue with Premier League officials clearly signals that the club are responding to United supporters' worries after supporter representatives recently voiced their irritation towards this season's timetabling. They believe match-going fans have endured an unfavourable sequence of fixtures, concerning the volume of home games scheduled for midweek, and the United Fans' Forum expressed their sentiments in a letter to the club, which responded with a letter of its own.

The Reds are among several Premier League clubs that backed an increase in Monday and Friday night matches, a feature of the new broadcast deal. There were also suggestions that this would be a solution to the expanded European schedule, which includes a record number of clubs participating in the Champions League, the Europa League and the Conference League.

United did not qualify for any of these continental competitions this season. However, they experienced the full impact of the extended schedule last season when they played 15 matches in the Europa League, culminating in a 1-0 loss in the final to Tottenham Hotspur.

Ruben Amorim is aiming for a hat-trick of Premier League victories when his team welcomes Brighton. United's 2-1 away win against Liverpool meant the Portuguese manager finally achieved consecutive Premier League victories.

The triumph over the reigning champions and the 2-0 home victory against Sunderland has propelled United into ninth place. They are one point ahead of Brighton, who will be visiting on Saturday and have already claimed victories over Chelsea and Manchester City this season.

• For the latest breaking stories and headlines, sign up to ourDaily Express MUFC newsletter, or join ourWhatsApp community here.

Amorim revealed that Harry Maguire and Mason Mount are both fitness concerns for the encounter against the Seasiders. The United boss explained: "We have some doubts, we had some issues in the week with Harry Maguire and Mason Mount. Knocks, nothing serious and we will see tomorrow.

"Licha [Lisandro Martinez] is out. He trained really well. He was on the next pitch and I was watching. He's training really well, the knee is looking well but I don't want to say a specific week [for his return] and then it depends on Licha, whether he wins the spot."